[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

[Saif]

Myanmar security personnel among 229 to flee into Bangladesh amid conflict

The influx into Bangladesh continued for a third day amid heavy fighting between Myanmar military forces and rebels

bdnews24.com

Myanmar security personnel among 229 to flee into Bangladesh amid conflict
The influx into Bangladesh continued for a third day amid heavy fighting between Myanmar military forces and rebels

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 6 Feb 2024, 12:27 PM
Updated : 6 Feb 2024, 12:27 PM

More than 200 people from Myanmar, including border guards and military personnel, have crossed into Bangladesh to escape the ongoing conflict between junta forces and armed insurgents.

As of Tuesday morning, 229 people have taken refuge in Bangladesh as the exodus from across the border continued into the third day.

"They include members of the Myanmar military and the Border Guard Police, as well as ordinary people. Efforts are underway to determine the number of people from each group," said Shariful Islam, a spokesman for Border Guard Bangladesh.

The Myanmar military and rebel group Arakan Army have been involved in intense fighting in Rakhine state, across the border from the Tumbru area in Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari for the past few days.

On Saturday night, the rebels seized a Border Guard Police (BGP) outpost and 14 members of the Myanmar border security force fled to Bangladesh. Since then, more and more people have crossed the border.

Bangladesh’s BGB is disarming them and taking them into their custody. At least 15 people with bullet wounds are also being given medical care. Four BGP personnel were transferred to Chattogram Medical College Hospital on Monday night for advanced treatment.

It is not clear whether other members of the Myanmar armed forces have entered Bangladesh in search of shelter.

Amid the conflict, several members of the Chakma and Tanchangya ethnic groups from Rakhine have gathered at the zero line of the border, according to relatives in Bangladesh. They also say that they are receiving videos of more people gathering at the zero line.

Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, commissioner of the refugee relief and repatriation office, told bdnews24.com on Monday, “For the past few days, there have been battles in Rakhine state across the border. We have heard from various sources that a humanitarian disaster is developing. If the situation worsens, we fear intrusions at various points.”

“The trouble is, we are already struggling to cope with the 1.2 million Rohingya [refugees] we have been looking after for the past six to seven years. If more people start entering from Rakhine, it will create a dire situation for us.”

But Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told the media on Monday that the border is protected and the government has discussed sending the fleeing members of Myanmar’s security forces back to the country.

“Now we are in discussions about what the process of their return will be. We are still discussing whether they will be taken back by air or through the port. We will find a way.”

The effects of the conflict across the border are being felt by residents on the Bangladeshi side as well. Many have fled their homes and sought shelter with friends and family living further away.

A Bangladeshi woman living in Naikhongchhari’s Ghumdhum area and an elderly Rohingya man were killed by a mortar shell fired from Myanmar on Monday afternoon.

Another mortar shell fired from Myanmar landed on the porch of a family’s home in Ghumdhum on Tuesday morning, but there were no casualties.

Locals say they can still hear sounds of gunfire and shelling. The Myanmar military is firing from helicopters and the rebels are returning fire, they said.

WHAT LED TO THE CONFLICT?

In 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup. In late October 2023, three ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar joined forces to launch a coordinated offensive against the junta forces.

These groups are the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Arakan Army (AA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).

These groups have engaged in armed conflict with the Myanmar military in the states of Shan, Rakhine, Chin and Kayah. The rebels have successfully taken over several important areas and army posts.

The Arakan Army, an armed force of a minority ethnic group in the western state of Rakhine, is fighting for greater autonomy for Rakhine.

The conflict between the army and insurgents is spilling over and affecting communities across the border. Sunday saw the largest influx from Myanmar since the war began.

Between late August and early September 2022, there were incidents of shelling from Myanmar warplanes that crossed the border into Bangladesh. Helicopters also entered Bangladesh territory.

Many people from border areas fled in panic, seeking refuge in safer locations.

Dhaka then summoned the country’s ambassador to register its protest and express condemnation and concern over these incidents.

 

[Saif]

Border guards who fled Myanmar tell of losing contact with commanders

Over 300 who crossed into Bangladesh have asked for assistance in returning to their homes.

www.rfa.org

Border guards who fled Myanmar tell of losing contact with commanders​

Over 300 who crossed into Bangladesh have asked for assistance in returning to their homes.

Sharif Khiam and Abdur Rahman
Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Bangladeshis deliver an injured Rohingya who tried to cross the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh to members of the Border Guard Bangladesh in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Feb. 6, 2024.

Myanmar border guards and soldiers fled into Bangladesh earlier this week after losing contact with their commanders during fierce fighting in Rakhine state, an interpreter present during their conversation with Bangladesh officials told BenarNews on Friday.

Many of these Burmese members of the junta-affiliated border police and army who have been sheltering with the Border Guard Bangladesh said they wished to return to their homes, according to an interpreter who spoke to BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news outlet, near the BGB outpost in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar.

As many as 330 members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) and soldiers crossed the border after abandoning their posts in Rakhine, next door in Myanmar, amid fierce fighting with Arakan Army rebels, who have been making advances in gaining control of territory in battles with junta forces.

The BGP members told the interpreter, Mohammad Saiful Islam, that they were attacked around 4 a.m. on Feb. 4. They fought back before fleeing on Feb. 6.

“They said the Arakan Army encircled from three sides and launched attacks on them. Before the attack, the Arakan Army severed all means of communication with their senior officials,” Saiful Alam told BenarNews. “But they continued their resistance for two days. Ten of their members died while the Arakan Army lost at least 20 of their members.

“They had no way to contact their commanding officers to get instructions.”

As the fighting crept closer to the border this week, at least three civilians on the Bangladesh side were reported killed by artillery and gunfire from the fighting.

Saiful Islam said he talked to 17 army officers linked to Myanmar’s border guard along with 147 BGP members who fled from the Rakhine state. They told him they crossed into Bangladesh to survive.

“‘If we proceeded in other directions, they would apprehend and kill us,’” he quoted an unnamed soldier as saying.

Saiful Islam said BGB leaders gave him questions to ask the Myanmar forces, adding most were reluctant to provide any details. They were more interested in asking about how they would be returned to Myanmar.

“The common answer I get from them is ‘we came under attack and we fled,’” he said.

Border Guard Bangladesh members gather in the Ukhia sub-district where they are unable to rescue victims because of ongoing shelling across the border in Myanmar, Feb. 9, 2024. [Minhaj Uddin/BenarNews]

Earlier this week, officials reported that 330 Myanmar troops crossed into Bangladesh and surrendered their weapons to the BGB.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, BGB’s new chief, said Bangladesh had followed international norms by allowing the Myanmar border guards and soldiers to cross into Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds.

Bangladesh ambassador to Myanmar Md. Monowar Hossain said he spoke to a Myanmar deputy foreign minister who expressed his government’s desire for the BGP to be returned. Bangladesh agreed to repatriate them by sea.

Fight for control

Myanmar’s security forces and the rebel Arakan Army (AA), founded in 2009, have been fighting for control of Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts.

In recent months, the AA has intensified attacks on the Myanmar military and the BGP.

On Friday, the AA claimed it captured the final major junta territory in Mrauk U, effectively taking control of the town in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, according to Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews.

Previously, the AA captured two key military units in western Rakhine state, seizing control of Minbya. This came after AA rebels captured a BGP camp in Maungdaw township last weekend.

As fighting intensified between the junta forces and the Arakan Army, the civilian population of Rakhine state – including Buddhist Chakma and minority Rohingya Muslims – has been displaced. Hundreds of people have been trying to cross into Bangladesh, but the BGB was put on alert to stop any influx of Myanmar residents.

In Dhaka, Obaidul Quader, a senior minister and spokesman for and general secretary of the ruling Awami League party, said the government would not allow people from Myanmar to take shelter in Bangladesh.

Lt. Col. Mohiuddin Ahmed, BGB Teknaf battalion commander, said many people were trying to enter Bangladesh at different spots along the border.

“As of today, we have apprehended 137 people who attempted to enter,” he told BenarNews on Friday.

Two days earlier, Quader told journalists that Rohingya would not be allowed to cross over from Rakhine.

“The Rohingya people have become a big burden for Bangladesh … the international assistance has fallen. How long can we support them,” he asked.

About 1 million Rohingya live in refugee camps in and around Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar – most have fled Myanmar since a military crackdown against their stateless minority group in August 2017.

On Friday, residents of Tombru, Gundam, Teknaf and Ukhia in Bangladesh told BenarNews correspondents that the intensity of fighting near the border has been reduced.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news outlet.

 

[Saif]

340 Myanmar troops flee into Bangladesh during fighting with armed ethnic group

Bangladesh's foreign minister says 340 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police and soldiers have fled into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic minority army

abcnews.go.com

340 Myanmar troops flee into Bangladesh during fighting with armed ethnic group
Bangladesh's foreign minister says 340 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police and soldiers have fled into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic minority army

By The Associated Press
February 8, 2024, 9:02 PM

NEW DELHI -- About 340 members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police and soldiers have fled into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic minority army, Bangladesh's foreign minister said Thursday.

Hasan Mahmud said 340 security personnel had entered Bangladesh by Wednesday. He said Bangladesh is having discussions with Myanmar's government about the issue and that it is willing to take them back.

Mahmud made the comments while on a visit to India, his first since becoming foreign minister last month.

Earlier this week, Bangladesh's border agency said some Myanmar troops had entered in recent days during fighting with the Arakan Army in Myanmar's Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh. It was the first time that Myanmar forces have been known to flee into Bangladesh since an alliance of ethnic minority armies in Myanmar launched an offensive against the military government late last year.

Officials said the troops that entered had been disarmed and taken to safe places.

Mahmud said he had also raised the issue with India, which shares a 1,643-kilometer (1,020-mile) border with Myanmar and is home to thousands of refugees from Myanmar in different states. Indian officials in November estimated that thousands had entered northeastern states in India to flee heavy fighting in Myanmar's western Chin state.

Separately on Thursday, India's Home Ministry announced that it would end visa-free movement between India and Myanmar “to ensure the internal security of the country.” The Free Movement Regime, as it is known, is an agreement between the two countries that allows people living along the border to travel up to 16 kilometers (10 miles) inside the other country without a visa.

The Arakan Army is the military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority that seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. It has been attacking army outposts in the western state since November.

It is part of an alliance of ethnic minority armies called the Three Brotherhood Alliance that launched an offensive in October and gained strategic territory in Myanmar’s northeast bordering China. Its success was seen as a major defeat for the military government, which seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and is now embroiled in a wide-ranging civil war.

Bangladesh shares a 271-kilometer (168-mile) border with Buddhist-dominated Myanmar and hosts more than 1 million Muslim Rohingya refugees, many of whom fled from Myanmar starting in August 2017 when its military launched a brutal “clearance operation” against them following attacks by an insurgent group.

 

[Saif]

Myanmar violence spills over into Bangladesh.

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh needs to make sure that the security officials of Tatmadaw are not here for espionage.