[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

[Saif]

PM seeks Chinese support to resolve Rohingya crisis

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday sought Chinese support to solve the Rohingya crisis quickly. “Bangladesh is now very much worried about Rohingya crisis due to uncertainty of solution as it has already been six years of influx of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to Bangladesh,&

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

PM seeks Chinese support to resolve Rohingya crisis
Published :
Jun 24, 2024 21:44
Updated :
Jun 24, 2024 21:44

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday sought Chinese support to solve the Rohingya crisis quickly.
"Bangladesh is now very much worried about Rohingya crisis due to uncertainty of solution as it has already been six years of influx of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to Bangladesh," she said.

The Premier sought this support as Liu Jianchao, Minister of International Department of the Communist Party of China, called on her at her Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban Office.

While briefing reporters after the call on, Prime Minister's Press Secretary Md Nayeemul Islam Khan quoted Sheikh Hasina as saying, "It (Rohingya crisis) is very much frustrating and worrying for us."

He said that the premier told the Chinese minister that "It's a special message (from myself) to convey to the Chinese President (for a amicable solution of Rohingya crisis)."

She also requested the minister to do something with own and extra interest for it, he added.​

 

[Saif]

Ethnic armed groups battle junta in west, north

Myanmar ethnic armed groups seized a popular beach resort town in the west of the country and launched dawn attacks on junta positions in the north, a military source and residents told AFP yesterday.

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Ethnic armed groups battle junta in west, north

Myanmar ethnic armed groups seized a popular beach resort town in the west of the country and launched dawn attacks on junta positions in the north, a military source and residents told AFP yesterday.

Fighting is raging across swathes of the Southeast Asian nation as ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy "People's Defence Forces" battle the military, which seized power in a 2021 coup.

In western Rakhine state, Arakan Army (AA) fighters have battled security forces for days around Ngapali beach, home to upmarket hotels and resorts owned by military-backed businesses.

Junta troops and police had retreated to an airport in the town of Thandwe, around two kilometres (more than a mile) away, a military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Hundreds of kilometres away in northern Shan state, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) launched dawn attacks on the military in the town of Kyaukme, the group and residents said.

One resident of the town, which sits on a vital highway to China, said they had heard artillery and gunfire around the town since the morning.

"Most people from the town are hiding inside their houses," another Kyaukme resident who works for a volunteer rescue team told AFP.

The TNLA had restricted travel around Kyaukme, they said, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

The AA and TNLA are members of the so-called "Three Brotherhood Alliance" that launched a surprise offensive against the junta last October across northern Shan state.

Their fighters seized swathes of territory and several lucrative trade crossings with China, dealing the junta its biggest blow since it seized power.

In January, China brokered a ceasefire that allowed the alliance to hold on to territory it had captured, but both sides have recently accused each other of breaking the truce.

The town of Thandwe, a few kilometres from Rakhine's Ngapali beach and home to the local airport, was largely deserted as of Monday, a resident who fled that day told AFP. "Almost everyone in the town has fled... Very few people are now in Thandwe," said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.​

 

[Saif]

Civil war in Myanmar: Bangladesh should revisit its national security strategy

It is high time Bangladesh revised its national security strategy and worked in close collaboration with the other key regional players.

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Civil war in Myanmar: Bangladesh should revisit its national security strategy

The Myanmar civil war is the result of decades of non-democratic rule by authoritative, military regimes. PHOTO: REUTERS

As fighting between the military junta and ethnic groups rages on in war-torn Myanmar, its neighbours Bangladesh, India, China and Thailand are finding it difficult to keep violence off their own borders.

Bangladesh, for instance, is facing major national security challenges at multiple layers as a result of the uncontained and reckless fighting between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel groups.

Intense gun battle along the Naf River, earlier this month, cut off Bangladesh's communications with its only coral island, St Martin's, located about nine kilometres off the mainland, for about a week. As a result, the island, with a population of about 11,000, was exposed to security risk and essential supplies crisis. Around the same time, heavy explosions along the Naf also caused panic among the residents of Shah Porir Dwip, another island situated at the southernmost point of Bangladesh. It was also reported that a Myanmar warship had been spotted opposite the island.

Indeed, these fears and security concerns are not unfounded. Since 2022, Myanmar has continuously violated Bangladesh's territorial integrity, with the former violating the latter's air space as early as in September 2022, with two shells falling inside the Bangladesh territory, and multiple rounds being fired from fighter aircraft.

As fighting between the factions and Myanmar military escalated, multiple killings and injuries were reported inside Bangladesh's territory. In February this year, two were killed by a mortar shell fired by Myanmar on Bandarban's Gumdhum border, with a child being injured. As recently as April this year, two Bangladeshi fishermen in Teknaf were injured when Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) opened fire.

The misadventures, if not provocative posturing, by both the Myanmar military and the armed rebel groups around the Bangladesh borders, including in the Bay of Bengal, pose major threat to Bangladesh's national security. The Bangladesh government must be commended for the restraint it has exercised in addressing the situation so far, but it seems that this patience is being misinterpreted by all the factions in Myanmar. While Bangladesh keeps trying to address the situation through meaningful dialogues in a constructive approach, the Myanmar factions have been pushing the nation further to the brink: Bangladesh has now threatened counterfire if Myanmar resumes violent activities along the restive border areas.

However, the security concerns for Bangladesh does not end here. It has been reported by multiple media sources that armed gangs operating inside Rohingya camps inside Bangladesh—Rohingya Salvation Organization (RSO), Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)—are actively and forcefully recruiting Rohingya men and boys (as young as 12) to fight in the civil war. In cases where the refugees are understandably unwilling to join, they are being kidnapped by the gangs. It has even been suggested that the recent arson incidents in the Kutupalong camp have been orchestrated by these gangs to coerce the refugees into joining the civil war. A recent turf war between ARSA and RSO has resulted in the death of three refugees.

What is even more alarming is that many of the refugees who have been forced away from the camps are currently being held inside the Bangladesh territory in the depths of the Bandarban hills, waiting to be pushed into Arakan. Many of the refugees, fearing illegal conscription by the various factions, including the Tatmadaw proxies, are voluntarily fleeing the camps and randomly spreading out across the greater Bandarban region, where it has been alleged that they are trying to assimilate with the locals.

If this is indeed the case, then the local authorities should beef up surveillance to avert internal security risks, given that the refugees are vulnerable to being manipulated by various quarters to serve their vested interests, and there is a high risk that the ones who are fleeing the camps could also potentially be exploited by groups with nefarious intentions.

In addition, Bangladesh has witnessed a new influx of refugees in recent months, as anticipated earlier, in the face of growing violence in the Rakhine state. A Bangladeshi official involved in refugee relief and repatriation told the media that many of the new refugees have been allowed to enter into Bangladesh territory unofficially. While Bangladesh has been generous in opening its doors to the Rohingya refugees, allowing them to do so unofficially or without tracking and accountability is a crisis in the making.

It is a no-brainer that in a desperate situation such as this, it would be difficult to keep the refugees from crossing over into Bangladesh. Under the current circumstances, without beefing up border security—and if required, ensuring a safe, official passage of the recently displaced Rohingya—infiltration would continue, resulting in the creation of small, sporadic pockets of illegal refugee settlement across the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The people in these pockets, desperate and vulnerable to the lures of various vested groups, can pose national security threats in the medium to long terms.

Bangladesh needs to revisit its national security strategy and adapt it to effectively navigate the shifting landscape. We need a multipronged approach to mitigate the emerging security threats.

First, we must acknowledge that our border security needs immediate attention and should do a thorough risk analysis with the support of defence experts and analysts, and come up with a comprehensive plan to counter these challenges.

Second, instead of hoping that the Rohingya refugees would not cross into Bangladesh, we should take stock of the situation and if required allow them official safe passage with strict monitoring of their whereabouts. This would be better than the refugees illegally infiltrating and then spreading across the greater CHT region, without any sight of their movement.

Third, the government should work in close collaboration with key regional players including India and China, since both have leverage with the Myanmar military and the armed factions in some cases, especially China—earlier this year, China brokered a ceasefire between the Myanmar junta and the armed groups—to convince all the parties to come to a negotiating table and discuss and ink a sustainable permanent ceasefire.

Fourth, Bangladesh should continue using diplomatic channels to convince the international community to increase funding for the desperate Rohingya refugees, whose living conditions have declined over the years with aid dwindling fast.

Finally, the Bangladesh government should negotiate a practical and sustainable repatriation deal for the refugees with the Myanmar authorities with the mediation of China. Once peace is restored in Myanmar, China can play a pivotal role by leveraging their influence to offer the refugees a dignified life in their own homeland with full citizenship, rights and security.

The Myanmar civil war is the result of decades of non-democratic rule by authoritative, military regimes, resulting in the persecution of minority groups, which has inflicted deep wounds within the communities. Its solution lies in the return of democracy and acceptance of all its people. The wounds are deep, but in a true democratic system, with rights and dignity restored to all the ethnic groups and communities, and everyone given their due representation and voice, Myanmar can heal, and prosper even, realising the full potential of the diversity the country is gifted with.

In light of the ongoing situation, it is high time Bangladesh revised its national security strategy and worked in close collaboration with the other key regional players to help Myanmar find peace.

Tasneem Tayeb is a columnist for The Daily Star.​

 

[Saif]

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মিয়ানমারে বিমান হামলায় বাংলাদেশ সীমান্তে আতঙ্ক
Published :
Jun 28, 2024 17:06
Updated :
Jun 28, 2024 17:06

বাংলাদেশ-মিয়ানমার সীমান্তঘেঁষা রোহিঙ্গা অধ্যুষিত রাখাইন রাজ্যের মংডুতে সরকারি বাহিনীর সঙ্গে সশস্ত্র গোষ্ঠী আরাকান আর্মির তুমুল সংঘাত চলছে। গতকাল বৃহস্পতিবার ভোর থেকে শুরু হওয়া একের পর এক মর্টার শেল ও গোলার বিকট শব্দে এপারে কক্সবাজারের টেকনাফ সীমান্তের বাসিন্দাদের মাঝে আতঙ্ক বাড়ছে।

সীমান্তের বাসিন্দারা বলছেন, গত চার মাস ধরে নিজেদের অস্বিস্ত রক্ষায় মিয়ানমারের সরকারি বাহিনীর সঙ্গে আরাকান আর্মির সংঘাত চলছে। এতে ওপারের বেশ কিছু সীমান্ত চৌকি এখন বিদ্রোহী গোষ্ঠী আরকান আর্মির দখলে। ওপারের যুদ্ধের কারণে এপারে সীমান্তের টেকনাফের নাইট্যংপাড়া, কায়ুকখালীপাড়া, জালিয়াপাড়া, চৌধুরীপাড়া, উত্তরপাড়া, দক্ষিণপাড়া, কুলালপাড়া, খাংগার ডেইল, নাজিরপাড়া, মৌলভীপাড়া, সাবরাংয়ের মগপাড়া, আছারবনিয়া, ডেগিল্ল্যা বিল, নয়াপাড়া, শাহপরীর দ্বীপের জালিয়াপাড়ায় মর্টারশেল ও বোমার বিকট শব্দে বাড়ি-ঘর কাঁপছে।

আতঙ্কে রয়েছেন সীমান্ত এলাকাসহ পার্শ্ববর্তী এলাকার বাসিন্দারা।মিয়ানমারে তীব্র লড়াই চলছে। সকাল থেকে গ্রামখালি করতে মাইকিং করা হচ্ছে। লোকজন না সরায় যুদ্ধবিমান দিয়ে হামলা চালানো হচ্ছে। গইন্যা পাড়া ও গজ্জনিয়া পাড়াসহ কয়েকটি গ্রামে বিমান হামলা চালাচ্ছে জান্তা বাহিনী।

উখিয়া রোহিঙ্গা ক্যাম্পের বাসিন্দারা বলেন, 'বৃহস্পতিবার বিকালেও ওপারে মংডুতে যুদ্ধবিমানে হামলা চালানো হয়েছে। এতে হতাহতের খবর পাওয়া যাচ্ছে। সেখানে থাকা রোহিঙ্গারা প্রাণ বাঁচাতে এদিক-ওদিক ছুটছে। অনেকে আবার এপারে আসতে চেষ্টা চালাচ্ছে বলে শুনেছি'।

এদিকে, সীমান্তের ওপারে রাখাইনে চলমান সংঘাতের কারণে নতুন করে বাংলাদেশে যাতে রোহিঙ্গা অনুপ্রবেশ না ঘটে সেজন্য বাড়তি নিরাপত্তা ব্যবস্থা নিয়েছে বাংলাদেশ কোস্ট গার্ড এবং সীমান্তরক্ষী বর্ডার গার্ড বিজিবি।

টেকনাফ-২ বিজিবির অধিনায়ক লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল মো. মহিউদ্দিন আহমেদ বলেন, মিয়ানমারের রাখাইনে গোলাগুলি চলছে। এ কারণে এপারে বিকট শব্দ পাওয়া যাচ্ছে। কিন্তু আমাদের সীমান্তবর্তী লোকজনের ভয়ের কোনও কারণ নেই। সীমান্তে বিজিবি কঠোর অবস্থানে রয়েছে। পাশাপাশি এ সমস্যাকে কেন্দ্র করে নতুন করে যাতে কোনও রোহিঙ্গা অনুপ্রবেশ ঘটতে না পারে সেজন্য সীমান্তে টহল জোরদার করা হয়েছে।

টেকনাফ উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা (ইউএনও) মোহাম্মদ আদনান চৌধুরী বলেন, ওপারে সংঘাত বৃদ্ধি পাওয়ায় সীমান্তে নজরদারি বাড়ানো হয়েছে। মিয়ানমারে চলমান সংঘাতে সীমান্তে আইনশৃঙ্খলা বাহিনীগুলো সতর্ক অবস্থায় রয়েছে। গোলার শব্দে সীমান্তের মানুষরা যাতে নির্ভয়ে থাকেন, সেজন্য সীমান্তের বসবাসকারীদের খোঁজখবর রাখছি।​

 

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[H3]Tensions in Rakhine, Chin have wider implications for Bangladesh[/H3]
[H3]Bangladesh cannot initiate a formal discussion with a non-state party like the Arakan Army. Yet, without any engagement of the Arakan Army, no Rohingya can be repatriated peacefully[/H3]

A group of old Chin woman with web spider tattoo on face in village near Mrauk U region in Myanmars Rakhine state. Chin people, also known as the Kukis are a number of Tibeto Burman tribal. Photo: Narinjara

The heat of Myanmar's civil war has already reached the Bangladesh border. However, this war - either the one in central Myanmar or those around the states - did not start today.

Understanding the present war in Myanmar requires an understanding of the history of the country's ethnic clashes. Burma (now Myanmar) emerged as an independent country in 1948, a year also marked by budding resistance from many ethnic groups.

The movement prior to Burma's independence was organised around the establishment of a federal country with regional autonomy of ethnic peoples like the Shan, Karen, Kachin, Rakhine, and others. The former prime minister of British Burma, Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi) was supposed to play the role of the coordinator. Unfortunately, Aung San was assassinated six months before Burma's independence.

As a result, the promise of a federal country was buried by the post-independent rulers led by the superior Bamar ethnic group, sparking armed resistance by the minorities. For the last 75 years, the demand for regional autonomy and resistance to Burmese authorities has flourished in the country, both in non-violent or violent formats.

However, a new element was added to this movement in 2021, when many Bamar people took to the streets protesting the Bamar-dominated Burmese military or the Tatmadaw-led coup that ousted the elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi — also a Bamar. The Suu Kyi-led political party National League carried on with non-violent protests for a year after the coup.

But now the party is leading the armed resistance against the Tatmadaw. This is a new phase in Myanmar's history and also indicates that the whole country is now in a civil war.

As a neighbour of Myanmar, Bangladesh has been facing implications of the war, specifically the ethnic resistance in the Rakhine state, which shares a border with Bangladesh.

We know that the Rakhine state — formerly Arakan — was an independent land, but the British Empire colonised it and later left it under the rule of the superior Bamar. Similar to other regions, the demand for an autonomous Arakan state has also persisted since Myanmar's independence. The United League of Arakan and its armed force, the Arakan Army, tried to push the demand both in non-violent and violent ways.

However, the Arakan Army mustered more strength and sharpened its counterattack against the Burmese military in 2017. The Arakan Army is now trying to shift its headquarters to the Rakhine state so that finance for the guerrilla movement can be generated easily.

Similarly, in the last three years, strong armed resistance by the Chin ethnic group has weakened the presence of the Burmese military in the Chin state, which also shares a small border with Bangladesh.

Simultaneously, the security conditions in the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh have deteriorated. At least 90 Rohingyas in the camps were murdered in internal clashes that occurred last year. Their demand for quick repatriation has become louder, amid dwindling global relief for the Rohingya.

So the flourishing of armed resistance in the Rakhine and Chin states, as well as the tension in the Rohingya camps, is very much concerning for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has been negotiating with Myanmar's central government for the repatriation of one million Rohingya people who fled the Burmese military-led crackdown in 2017. Now, the Arakan Army has emerged as another party to discuss with. Apart from Rohingya repatriation, Bangladesh would need to talk to the Arakan Army regarding the century-old border trade with Myanmar.

I would like to mention that Chin people in Myanmar, Mizos and Kukis in India's Mizoram and Manipur, belong to a common larger Zo ethnicity. There are similar ethnic people in Bangladesh's Bandarban district. So, the tension in Manipur, Chin and Rakhine needs to be discussed with great importance.

The Burmese military, cornered on the ground in the last three months due to strong resistance by the ethnic groups, will certainly intensify airstrikes over the conflict zones. Already, the Chin state has been affected and many people have taken refuge in Mizoram. The possibility of a new influx from Myanmar to Bangladesh is high.

During an interview, Arakan Army commander-in-chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing told us that the Arakan Army is willing to accept the Rohingya diaspora as citizens of Myanmar. But the Buddhist-dominated Arakan Army does not acknowledge the legitimacy of Rohingya ethnicity, which will be a concern in the repatriation process. However, Major General Naing showed interest in discussing the issues with the Bangladesh government.

It needs to be noted that Bangladesh cannot initiate a formal discussion with a non-state party like the Arakan Army. It will certainly annoy Myanmar. The great dilemma for Bangladesh is that without any engagement of the Arakan Army, no Rohingya can be repatriated peacefully.
[HR=3][/HR]
The author is a researcher of history and author of 'Burma: Jatigoto Shonghater Shaat Doshok.'

I do not think what happens in Myanmar affects Bangladesh.

India and even China have influence Bangladesh more.

 

[Saif]

I do not think what happens in Myanmar affects Bangladesh.

India and even China have influence Bangladesh more.

Insurgency in Myanmar has caused influx of Rohingyas in Bangladesh. Besides, scores of Myanmar security personnel have taken refuge in Bangladesh to save their lives from Arakan army. The unrest in Myanmar is the sole reason for diminishing law and order situation in the border areas of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the only country in South Asia which has become a victim of insurgency in Myanmar.

 

[Saif]

Central bank denies UN report on weapons transactions

Myanmar’s central bank denied a UN report that the military government can still access money and weapons for its war against anti-coup forces, saying financial institutions under bank’s supervision followed prescribed procedures.

www.thedailystar.net

POST-COUP MYANMAR
Central bank denies UN report on weapons transactions

Myanmar's central bank denied a UN report that the military government can still access money and weapons for its war against anti-coup forces, saying financial institutions under bank's supervision followed prescribed procedures.

The Central Bank of Myanmar "expressed our strong objection to the UN Special Rapporteur's report", it said in a statement published in a junta newspaper on Saturday. "The UN report severely harms the interests of Myanmar civilians and the relationship between Myanmar and other countries."

The rapporteur on Myanmar's human rights, Tom Andrews, reported on Wednesday that while international efforts to isolate the junta appear to have dented its ability to buy military equipment, it still imported $253 million worth of weapons, dual-use technologies, manufacturing equipment and other materials in the 12 months to March.

The report said Myanmar had the help of international banks, including those from Southeast Asian neighbour Thailand, for its purchases.

Facing its biggest challenge since its 2021 coup against Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's government, Myanmar's military is caught up in multiple, low-intensity conflicts and grappling to stabilise a crumbling economy.​

 

[Saif]

Rohingya may have entered Bangladesh in recent Myanmar clashes: Refugee official

Rohingya have faced persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for decades, with large numbers fleeing to Bangladesh from Rakhine in 2017, following a military-led crackdown on the minority community.

en.prothomalo.com

Rohingya may have entered Bangladesh in recent Myanmar clashes: Refugee official
ReutersDhaka
Updated: 22 Jun 2024, 18: 15

Rohingya refugee children walk along the road at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, 16 November 2018.Reuters file photo

Escalating violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine state in recent months may have spurred some Rohingya Muslims to cross into Bangladesh, a key refugee official said, although Dhaka insists it cannot accept more refugees from its war-torn neighbour.

Rohingya have faced persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for decades, with large numbers fleeing to Bangladesh from Rakhine in 2017, following a military-led crackdown on the minority community.

Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, the Bangladesh official tasked with refugee relief and repatriation, said his office had received reports of Rohingya crossing over to swell the figure of nearly a million housed in refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar area.

"Some people have managed to enter Bangladesh in various ways and have taken refuge in different places," Rahman, who is based in the southeastern coastal region, told Reuters. "I believe some people are being allowed to enter unofficially."

Fighting has flared in Rakhine after a ceasefire between the Arakan Army (AA), one of Myanmar's most powerful ethnic armies, and the ruling junta broke down late last year.

Spokesmen for the AA and the junta did not respond to telephone calls from Reuters to seek comment.

The AA has captured nine key towns in the coastal province and pursued its offensive to take more territory, in a nationwide rebel onslaught that has left the junta at its weakest since taking power in a 2021 coup.

In May, the AA said it had taken control of Buthidaung town, which had a large Rohingya population, amid accusations it had targeted members of the Muslim-minority community during the offensive. The rebel group denies the allegations.

On Sunday, the AA warned residents of Maungdaw, a town west of Buthidaung that is home primarily to Rohingya, to leave ahead of a planned offensive on the settlement.

'Helpless situation'

But with exit routes blocked, several residents, a Rohingya leader and the United Nations human rights chief have said that Maungdaw residents have nowhere to flee.

About 70,000 Rohingya are feared trapped in the area.

Rahman said he had received messages from Rohingya that the AA offensive could lead to more displacement in Maungdaw, which touches the border with Bangladesh.

"I am receiving letters ... from organisations, especially the UNHCR, about their helpless situation, how they are stranded and that they want to come to Bangladesh, and they need protection," he said, referring to the U.N. Refugee Agency.

The UNHCR did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Bangladesh's foreign and interior ministries did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

There was no change in policy on the Rohingya, however, a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

On Thursday, a Maungdaw resident who sought anonymity told Reuters that some townspeople had moved to nearby villages for fear of air strikes and artillery barrages as the AA edged nearer, with some injuries from artillery shelling.​

 

[Saif]

BGB sends back 31 Rohingyas from St Martins

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh have sent back a trawler carrying 31 Rohingya people and two members of Myanmar Border Guard Police after they entered...

www.newagebd.net

BGB sends back 31 Rohingyas from St Martins
Our Correspondent . Cox's Bazar 06 July, 2024, 00:35

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh have sent back a trawler carrying 31 Rohingya people and two members of Myanmar Border Guard Police after they entered St Martins Island from Myanmar early Friday.

St Martin union parishad chairman Mujibur Rahman said that the trawler carried these passengers from Myanmar›s Maungdaw area, a town in Rakhine State.

They were sent back on Friday afternoon by the BGB members, the chairman said.

He added that the passengers reported coming to the island because their trawler was not functional and the BGP members were armed.

Subedar Sanwar Hossain, the in-charge of the BGB petrol team in Saint Martin Island, confirmed that 33 individuals, including women and children, arrived on the trawler.

An on-duty member later confirmed that Rohingyas returned to Myanmar on Friday afternoon, without providing details.

Nurul Amin, a resident of the island and a beach worker for the district administration, said that he learned that due to the turbulent situation in the Maungdaw area, people from there have crossed the sea in several trawlers, with one of them arriving at Saint Martin.

Boat communication between Saint Martin and Bangladesh's mainland has remained suspended since June 6 due to safety concerns after a boat carrying election officials was shot at.

Cox's Bazar district administration provided some emergency supplies to the island under special arrangements.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters at his office on June 20 that they had warned both the warring parties, the Myanmar Army and the ethnic group Arakan Army, that Bangladesh would retaliate if anyone fired into the country's territory.

Asaduzzaman earlier reiterated that Bangladesh would not give shelter to any more Rohingyas as the country was already burdened with over one million Rohingyas, most of whom fled violence in Myanmar in 2017.

Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a press briefing in Geneva on May 24 that approximately 4,000 Rohingya fled to Rakhine on the Naf River near the border with Bangladesh, seeking protection.

'We are receiving frightening and disturbing reports from northern Rakhine State in Myanmar of the impacts of the conflict on civilian lives and property,' Throssell said.

On February 15 and April 25, Bangladesh repatriated 330 and 228 members of Myanmar›s border guards, army, and customs officials, respectively, who had entered Bangladesh through various borders, including Teknaf and Naikhyangchari, in Cox's Bazar.

On June 9, a total of 134 members of the BGP and army were sent back to Myanmar.

A Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed by a shell fired from Myanmar on February 5, while several others sustained injuries from a recent shellfire, prompting Bangladeshis to relocate some villagers from bordering areas.

Bangladeshi fisherman Hossain Ali, 48, who was injured by a bullet allegedly fired by the Myanmar armed group Arakan Army while fishing in the river Naf, died on May 28 while undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital.​

 

[Saif]

St Martin’s cut off from mainland, residents suffer from food crisis

The waterway communication between St Martin's Island and Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar is yet to be normalised, leaving a total of 10 thousand residents of the island in acute crisis of daily essentials. Goods had been transported to the only coral island of the country through an alternative...

en.prothomalo.com

St Martin's cut off from mainland, residents suffer from food crisis
Gias UddinFrom Teknaf
Updated: 06 Jul 2024, 21: 07

Movements of passengers and cargo vessels on the Teknaf and St Martin's sea route have been closedProthom Alo file photo

The waterway communication between St Martin's Island and Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar is yet to be normalised, leaving a total of 10 thousand residents of the island in acute crisis of daily essentials.

Goods had been transported to the only coral island of the country through an alternative route but that too has been cut off since 22 June.

St Martin's union parishad chairman Mujibur Rahman and service trawler owner's association's president Abdur Rashid confirmed the plights the residents of the island are undergoing.

Abdur Rashid told Prothom Alo that two trawlers named SB Nayeem and SB Mayer Doa with supplies on 22 June went to St Martin's through the alternative route. The supplies included over three hundred gas cylinders, food items and 10-12 passengers. Besides, two speed boats brought 15 passengers including patients from the island to Shah Porir Dwip.

This correspondent talked over phone with about 50 residents of St Martin's Island including public representatives, businessmen, teachers, trawler owners and general people. They said they are not bothered by the internal conflict in Myanmar, but they suffered immensely as the waterway communication snapped.

All waterway communications between Teknaf and St Martin's have remained cut-off since 8 June. Earlier on 5 and 8 June, trawlers and speedboats were targeted by gunfire from Myanmar at Naikkhongdia at the Naf River estuary. Although none was injured, the trawler was hit by seven bullets. After the incident, the upazila administration stopped plying of vessels on this route. The authorities then permitted an alternative route through the 'Golgora' area Bodormoka in Shah Porir Dwip. However, the St Martin's service trawler owners association president Abdur Rashid said the owners don't want to use this route considering this as risky.

Studies hampered in two schools

The island has two educational institutes—one is a government primary school and the other is St Martin's BN Islamic School and College.

The primary school has a total of 205 students. Although there are seven posts of teachers and staff in this school, it currently has three teachers and a staff. The number of students in BN Islamic School and College is over 300 and teachers-staff is 13.

As the two schools were closed for Eid and summer vacation on 13 June, most of the teachers left the island. But the teachers cannot now return to the schools as the communication is snapped.

St Martin's union parishad's panel chairman Aktar Kamal said, "The people of the island are suffering. We are just living on by sustenance. Yet, we could have got some solace had our children got the opportunity to study. But their studies are being hampered due to shortage of teachers."

Shortage of essentials

Due to closure of the alternative routes too, the residents of the island are suffering from shortage of essential commodities.

The main market of the island is near Jetty ghat with several hundred shops and restaurants. It was learnt that most of the shops do not have stock of daily necessities. A few shops have some essential commodities, but they are being sold at high prices. No eggs were found yesterday in some shops on the north and south sides of the market. But a week ago, one egg was sold for Tk 25. One kg of potato was sold at Tk 110 and per kg onion was sold at Tk 150.

Md Hossain, a grocery shop owner, said supplies are not arriving from Teknaf due to closure of waterways. He bought edible oil, onion, garlic, ginger, eggs and rice on 22 June and stored them in the warehouse. Seeing people suffering, he is now selling the stocked goods.

He said people of the island starve to death if this situation continues.
St Martin's union parishad's chairman Mujibur Rahman said transportation of supplies is being hampered due to closure of water communication with the island.

"The local administration has to strengthen the patrolling of the Coast Guard and BGB in Badarmokam area of Naf river to normalise the movement of boats. At the same time, it is necessary to dredge the Badarmokam area due to the rise of shoals."

Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer Md Adnan Chowdhury said trawlers were allowed to go to St Martin's through the Teknaf coast of the Bay of Bengal instead of the Naf river to resolve the food crisis. But the trawlers are not using the route due to rough seas.

He added that the effort is on to solve the crisis.​

 

[Saif]

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thefinancialexpress.com.bd

মিয়ানমারে গোলাগুলির শব্দ, টেকনাফে আতঙ্ক
কক্সবাজার প্রতিনিধি
Published :
Jul 08, 2024 18:19
Updated :
Jul 08, 2024 18:19

মিয়ানমারের রাখাইন রাজ্যে সংঘাতের জেরে কক্সবাজারের টেকনাফ সীমান্তবর্তী নাফন ওপারে মংডু শহরে তুমুল লড়াই চলছে। রাতভর বিস্ফোরণের বিকট শব্দ সীমান্তের এপারে ভেসে এসেছে। থেমে থেমে মর্টার শেল ও গোলাগুলির শব্দে ঘুম নেই টেকনাফের বাসিন্দাদের। স্থানীয়দের মধ্যে দেখা দিয়েছে আতঙ্ক।

সোমবার (৮ জুলাই) বিকাল পর্যন্ত থেমে থেমে বিস্ফোরণের শব্দ শোনা গেছে।

টেকনাফ সদর ইউনিয়নের মৌলভীপাড়ার বাসিন্দা নুরুল আমিন বলেন, রাতভর গোলাগুলির বিকট শব্দ ভেসে এসেছে। এখনও থেমে থেমে শোনা যাচ্ছে বিস্ফোরণের শব্দ। এ সংঘাত কবে শেষ হবে জানি না।

তিনি আরও বলেন, গত রাতে নাফ নদের ওপারে মিয়ানমারের বিস্ফোরণের শব্দে বাড়িঘরে কম্পন সৃষ্টি হয়েছে। রাতে ঘুম নেই, মনে হয়েছে বাড়ির ওপরে পড়ছে এসব গুলি।

টেকনাফের উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা (ইউএনও) আদনান চৌধুরী বলেন, নাফনদীর ওপাশ থেকে গোলাগুলির শব্দ ভেসে আসছে। আর আমাদের সীমান্তে বিজিবি ও কোস্টগার্ড সতর্ক অবস্থানে রয়েছে। এছাড়া কোনো রোহিঙ্গা যেনো অনুপ্রবেশ করতে না পারে সে বিষয়ে সীমান্তরক্ষী বাহিনীগুলো সতর্ক অবস্থানে রয়েছে।​

 

[Saif]

PM Hasina seeks Chinese cooperation to repatriate Rohingyas

The Bangladesh prime minister said Rohingyas have taken shelter over six and a half years ago but no initiative has been taken yet to repatriate them to Myanmar

en.prothomalo.com

PM Hasina seeks Chinese cooperation to repatriate Rohingyas
BSS Beijing
Updated: 10 Jul 2024, 10: 03

A high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing on 9 July 2024BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday called upon China to help Bangladesh repatriate the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar.

"Help in sending the Rohingya back to Myanmar," she was quoted as saying by Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud in a media briefing on her engagements on the second day of her visit to China.

The prime minister made the remarks when a high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning, held a meeting with the Bangladesh prime minister at the Great Hall of the People in the morning.

During the meeting, different regional and bilateral issues, including the Rohingya crisis, reducing trade gap between Bangladesh and China, celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries in a meaningful way, measures to enhance their bilateral relations and contact between Bangladesh Awami League and Chinese Communist Party, were prominently and elaborately discussed.

The Bangladesh prime minister said Rohingyas have taken shelter over six and a half years ago but no initiative has been taken yet to repatriate them to Myanmar.

"This issue was discussed (during the meeting) with the highest importance," Hasan said.

The CPPCC chairman said they will discuss the matter with Myanmar and will play a role of facilitator between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the issue.

"We will give our best efforts to initiate Rohingya repatriation by holding discussions with Myanmar," Wang Hunning said.

Finance Minister A H Mahmood Ali, PM's press secretary M Nayeemul Islam Khan and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) managing director and chief editor Abul Kalam Azad were present, among others, during the briefing.

A high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing on 9 July 2024BSS

Sheikh Hasina has stressed the need for reducing the trade gap between Bangladesh and China.

The prime minister said Bangladesh has imported huge goods from China while the list of export items is very small.

China can increase imports from Bangladesh to reduce the trade gap, she stated.

The prime minister also said China can import medicines, leather goods, jute products, vegetables and mango from Bangladesh.

While the CPPCC leaders said they will take measures to import quality goods from Bangladesh.

They also discussed in detail the existing relationship between the two countries and hoped to enhance the relations further, Hasan said.

In this regard, the prime minister said the relations between Bangladesh and China reached a new height and rooted in the deep at the initiative of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bangabandhu made visits to China in 1952 and 1957, she said, adding that she herself visited China six times.

The prime minister thanked the Chinese government for helping in building some iconic projects that include the Padma Bride, Bangabandhu Tunnel and Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC).

Enhancing relations between Bangladesh Awami League and Chinese Communist Party have also been discussed during the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina, also president of governing Bangladesh Awami League, said that her party will send a high-level delegation to China.

She also invited the Chinese Communist Party leaders to visit Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

Myanmar responded positively in taking back Rohingyas: FM Hasan

Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Swe has responded positively to start repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland-Myanmar

www.thedailystar.net

Myanmar responded positively in taking back Rohingyas: FM Hasan

Photo: PID

Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Swe has responded positively to start repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland-Myanmar.
Myanmar's foreign minister expressed this positive approach during a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat in New Delhi, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

Hasan reminded his Myanmar counterpart of their previous discussions and said that Myanmar has been saying for a long time that they are willing to take back the Rohingya citizens who have been forcibly displaced from their country and have taken shelter in Bangladesh.

But no signs of its implementation have been observed yet, Hasan said during the meeting held yesterday.

He emphasised the issue by stating that only Myanmar can set a precedent to keep its promise when the repatriation process starts.

Myanmar's foreign minister responded positively and reiterated his country's intention to begin repatriation as soon as possible in consultation with his government, Hasan said.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.3 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.

Meanwhile, on the last day of the retreat, the BIMSTEC foreign ministers had a courtesy call on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh turns back fleeing Myanmar soldiers

Bangladesh stopped dozens of Myanmar security personnel from crossing into its territory to flee advancing rebel forces, a local government official based near their river border said Tuesday...

www.newagebd.net

Bangladesh turns back fleeing Myanmar soldiers
Agence France-Presse . Teknaf 17 July, 2024, 00:00

Bangladesh stopped dozens of Myanmar security personnel from crossing into its territory to flee advancing rebel forces, a local government official based near their river border said Tuesday.

Clashes have rocked Myanmar's western frontiers since the Arakan Army attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since the country's 2021 military coup.

Hundreds of Myanmar troops have taken refuge in India and Bangladesh since then, usually staying for days or weeks before being repatriated on junta-organised flights.

But on Sunday at least 66 members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police were sent back immediately while trying to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh.

'The Border Guard Police members wanted to enter Teknaf on two boats. The coast guard prevented their entry,' Mujibur Rahman, a councillor of Bangladesh's southeastern border town of Teknaf,

There was no immediate comment from either Bangladesh's coast guard or Myanmar junta representatives.

A Teknaf-based journalist who took photographs of the boats said the vessels came close to a pier in the town but were pushed back towards Myanmar later in the night.

'Some of them were not wearing any shirts,' he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Months of fierce fighting in Myanmar have seen steady advances by the Arakan Army in the western state of Rakhine, piling further pressure on the junta as it battles opponents elsewhere in the country.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders last month announced it was halting all activities near the state's border with Bangladesh due to an 'extreme escalation of conflict' in the area.

Bangladesh has accepted more than 850 fleeing Myanmar soldiers this year, a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

'We have already handed over 752 of them to Myanmar,' he said, adding around 100 border police and troops were waiting to be repatriated.

Bangladesh is home to around one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled Rakhine in 2017 after a military crackdown now the subject of a genocide investigation at a UN court.​

 

[Saif]

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মিà§à¦¾à¦¨à¦®à¦¾à¦°à§à¦° সà¦à¦à¦¾à¦¤à§à¦° à¦à¦¾à¦°à¦£à§ সà§à¦·à§à¦ পরিসà§à¦¥à¦¿à¦¤à¦¿à¦¤à§ বাà¦à¦²à¦¾à¦¦à§à¦¶à§à¦° à¦à¦à§à¦¯à¦¨à§à¦¤à¦°à§à¦° বিà¦à¦²à§à¦ª নà§à¦ªà¦¥ বà§à¦¯à¦¬à¦¹à¦¾à¦° à¦à¦°à§ সà§à¦¨à§à¦à¦®à¦¾à¦°à§à¦à¦¿à¦¨ থà§à¦à§ à¦à§à¦à¦¨à¦¾à¦«à§ à¦à¦¸à¦¾...

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

সেন্টমার্টিনে ট্রলার লক্ষ্য করে মিয়ানমার থেকে গুলি
কক্সবাজার প্রতিনিধি
Published :
Jul 17, 2024 22:45
Updated :
Jul 17, 2024 22:45

মিয়ানমারের সংঘাতের কারণে সৃষ্ট পরিস্থিতিতে বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরের বিকল্প নৌপথ ব্যবহার করে সেন্টমার্টিন থেকে টেকনাফে আসা দু'টি ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণের ঘটনা ঘটেছে।

বুধবার (১৭ জুলাই) দুপুর ২টার দিকে টেকনাফের শাহপরীরদ্বীপ বদরমোকাম এলাকা অতিক্রমের সময় ট্রলার দু'টিকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়েছে।

সেন্টমার্টিন সার্ভিস ট্রলার মালিক সমিতির সভাপতি আবদুর রশিদ এ তথ্য নিশ্চিত করেছেন।

তিনি জানান, দুপুর ১২টার দিকে সেন্টমার্টিন ঘাট থেকে ৭৫ জন যাত্রী নিয়ে টেকনাফের উদ্দেশ্যে যাত্রা দেয় এফবি নাইম ও এফবি রাশেদ নামের দুইটি ট্রলার। একসঙ্গে যাত্রা দেয়া ট্রলার দু'টি বিকল্প নৌপথ ব্যবহার করে বঙ্গোপসাগর অতিক্রম করে নাফনদীর মোহনায় প্রবেশ করছিল বেলা ২টার দিকে। এই সময় মিয়ানমারের অংশ থেকে একের পর এক গুলি বর্ষণ শুরু করা হয়। ট্রলার চালকরা কৌশলে ট্রলার চালিয়ে গেলেও টানা আধা ঘন্টা ধরে ট্রলার দুটিকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়। এতে কোন যাত্রী হতাহত না হলেও ট্রলারে গুলি লেগেছে। আড়াইটার দিকে ট্রলার দু'টি নিরাপদে শাহপরীরদ্বীপের জেটিতে অবতরণের সুযোগ হয়েছে। ট্রলারগুলো পৌঁছানো পর্যন্ত ওপার থেকে টানা গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়।

আবদুর রশিদ বলেন, মিয়ানমার থেকে দূরে বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরের এলাকায় ট্রলার দু'টি চলাচল করছিল। এরপরও মিয়ানমার থেকে গুলি বর্ষণ করায় চালক সহ দ্বীপবাসীর মনে নতুন করে আতঙ্ক তৈরি হয়েছে।

কারা গুলি করেছে এমন প্রশ্নের উত্তরে তিনি বলেন, যতটুকু জানা গেছে মিয়ানমারের ওপারের অংশটি নাইক্ষ্যংদিয়া এলাকা আরাকান আর্মির নিয়ন্ত্রণে। এরাই গুলি করেছে।

টেকনাফ উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা (ইউএনও) মো. আদনান চৌধুরী বলেন, মিয়ানমার থেকে সেন্টমার্টিনের দু'টি ট্রলারে আবারও গুলি বর্ষণের বিষয়টি জেনেছি। এ ব্যাপারে উধ্বর্তন মহলকে অবহিত করা হয়েছে। উধ্বর্তন মহলের সিদ্ধান্তের পর পরবর্তী ব্যবস্থা নেওয়া হবে।

এর আগে মিয়ানমারে চলমান সংঘাতের জেরে ১ জুন বিকালে টেকনাফ থেকে সেন্টমার্টিনের উদ্দেশে রওনা হওয়া পণ্যসহ ১০ যাত্রীর এক ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে নাইক্ষ্যংদিয়া এলাকা থেকে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়। এছাড়া ৫ জুন সেন্টমার্টিনের স্থগিত হওয়া একটি কেন্দ্রে টেকনাফ উপজেলা পরিষদের ভাইস চেয়ারম্যান পদের ফলাফল নির্ধারণের জন্য ভোট গ্রহণ হয়। আনুষ্ঠানিকতা শেষে ফেরার পথে দায়িত্বরত ম্যাজিস্ট্রেটসহ নির্বাচন সংশ্লিষ্ট কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে একই পয়েন্টে ফের গুলি করা হয়। ৮ জুন আরও এক ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি করা হয় একই পয়েন্টে।

সর্বশেষ ১১ জুন একটি স্পিড বোটকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলিবর্ষণ হয়। প্রতিটি গুলিবর্ষণের ঘটনাই বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরীণ জলসীমায় ঘটেছে। গুলিবর্ষণের এসব ঘটনায় হতাহত না হলেও নিরাপত্তার কথা বিবেচনা করে টেকনাফ-সেন্টমার্টিন রুটে নৌযান চলাচল বন্ধ হয়ে যায়। এতে দ্বীপে খাদ্য সংকট ও জরুরি আসা-যাওয়ার ক্ষেত্রে প্রতিবন্ধকতা তৈরি হয়।

১২ জুন কক্সবাজার জেলা প্রশাসনের জরুরি সভায় বঙ্গোপসাগরকে ব্যবহার করে যাত্রীদের আসা-যাওয়া ও পণ্য নিয়ে যাওয়ার সিদ্ধান্ত হয়। ১৩ জুন থেকে টেকনাফের সাবরাং মুন্ডার ডেইল উপকূল ব্যবহার করে শুরু হয় যাত্রীদের আসা-যাওয়া। ১৪ জুন কক্সবাজার শহর থেকে দ্বীপে পণ্য নিয়ে যায় জাহাজ। আর বিকল্প পথ হিসেবে শাহপরীরদ্বীপ ও সেন্টমার্টিনে সীমিত পরিসরে কিছু নৌযান চালানোর সিদ্ধান্ত হয়।

এরপর থেকে কিছু দিন পর পর বিকল্প নৌপথটি ব্যবহার করে সেন্টমার্টিনের আসা যাওয়া চলে আসছিল।

দুপুরের গুলিবর্ষণের ঘটনা নিয়ে বিজিবি ও কোস্টগার্ডের কোনো বক্তব্য পাওয়া যায়নি।​

 

[Saif]

Myanmar junta, ethnic group claim control of military regional HQ

Myanmar’s junta and an ethnic minority armed group both claimed on Thursday they were in control of a town and regional military command in northern Shan state following days of clashes...

www.newagebd.net

Myanmar junta, ethnic group claim control of military regional HQ
Agence France-Presse . Yangon 26 July, 2024, 00:07

Myanmar's junta and an ethnic minority armed group both claimed on Thursday they were in control of a town and regional military command in northern Shan state following days of clashes.

Fighting has rocked the town of Lashio, home to the military's northeastern command, since July 3 when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against junta troops.

Local media run by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army reported the group 'fully captured the headquarters of the Northeast Military command in Lashio' on Thursday morning and also captured Lashio town, home to around 150,000 people.

MNDAA spokesman Li Jiawen said the group's fighters had captured Lashio, without giving further details.

But junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told reporters the claim was 'not true'.

'The insurgents infiltrated the outskirts of Lashio so (the security forces) have been following and clearing them,' he said, without giving details.

The northeastern command is located in the north of Lashio.

A video uploaded to social media with a caption saying it was shot in Lashio on Thursday morning showed deserted streets with no soldiers in sight.

AFP reporters geolocated the video to a site in the town around two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the command.

Northern Shan state has been rocked by fighting since late last month when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against the military along the highway to China's Yunnan province.

The clashes have shredded a Beijing-brokered truce that in January halted a campaign by the alliance of the Arakan Army (AA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the MNDAA.

The military has carried out several air strikes around the town during the fighting, according to residents.

Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting, according to the junta and local rescue groups.

Neither the junta nor the ethnic alliance have released figures on their own casualties.

Indonesia's foreign minister on Thursday slammed the junta's unwillingness to engage with a regional peace plan to resolve the conflict, speaking after meeting her Singaporean counterpart on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers meeting in Laos.

Both Singapore and Indonesia have been critical of the junta's power grab, which has divided the 10-member ASEAN bloc.

Myanmar's borderlands are home to myriad ethnic armed groups who have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 for autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

Some have given shelter and training to newer 'People's Defence Forces' (PDFs) that have sprung up to battle the military after the coup in 2021.

China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with armed ethnic groups in Myanmar that hold territory near its border.

Beijing was 'paying close attention to the situation in northern Myanmar' and urged a halt to the fighting, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference on Thursday.

It had also urged relevant parties 'to not endanger the safety of China's borders and border residents, as well as Chinese projects, firms, and personnel in Myanmar', she said.

Three people had been killed and 10 wounded in military air strikes on the MNDAA-held city of Laukkai on the border with China this week, MNDAA's Li Jiawen said, adding that the wounded included three Chinese nationals.

The armed group captured Laukkai in January after around 2,000 junta troops surrendered, in one of the military's biggest single defeats in decades.​

 

[Saif]

ASEAN iterates concern over Myanmar conflicts

A joint communique released by ASEAN on Saturday expressed the bloc’s ‘deep concern over the escalation of conflicts’ in member-state Myanmar...

www.newagebd.net

ASEAN iterates concern over Myanmar conflicts
Agence France-Presse . Vientiane 28 July, 2024, 00:38

A joint communique released by ASEAN on Saturday expressed the bloc's 'deep concern over the escalation of conflicts' in member-state Myanmar.

The country has been ravaged by violence since the military seized power in 2021, sparking renewed fighting with established ethnic minority armed groups and dozens of newer 'People's Defence Forces'.

ASEAN has spearheaded so far unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, with a five-point peace plan agreed between the junta and the bloc now moribund.

The five-point consensus 'remains our main reference to address the political crisis,' the joint communique said.

Myanmar's junta has been banned from high-level ASEAN summits over its coup and crackdown on dissent, in which rights groups say it may have committed war crimes.

Two senior bureaucrats represented Myanmar at the Laos talks.

The military's readiness to re-engage with ASEAN diplomatically was a 'sign of the junta's weakened position', a Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP earlier this week.

Australia's foreign minister on Saturday called on Myanmar's junta to 'take a different path' from its bloody crackdown on dissent, saying the situation in the war-torn country is 'not sustainable'.

Penny Wong made the comments at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting, where the crisis in ASEAN member Myanmar has divided the bloc.

The country was plunged into a civil war after the military seized power in a coup in 2021.

Weeks after it seized power and launched a crackdown on dissent the junta agreed to a five-point peace plan with ASEAN but has failed to implement it.

'Myanmar is deeply concerning, we see it in the economy, instability, insecurity, deaths,' Wong told journalists at a press conference.

'The message I want to send to the military regime is 'this is not sustainable for you and your people'.'

'We urge them to take a different path and reflect the five-point consensus.'

The junta has been barred from high-level ASEAN meetings over its crackdown on dissent.

It had previously refused to send 'non-political representatives' but two senior bureaucrats are representing the country at the talks in Vientiane.

A Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity earlier this week that the military's readiness to re-engage diplomatically was a sign of its 'weakened position'.

In recent weeks ethnic minority armed groups have renewed an offensive against the military in northern Shan state, seizing territory along a vital highway to China.

Myanmar's generals have yet to make any meaningful counterattack following a previous offensive by ethnic armed groups in October that seized swaths of territory along the border with China.

The losses triggered rare public criticism of its top leadership.

ASEAN has spearheaded diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis but with little success.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have called for tougher action against the junta, while Thailand has held its own bilateral talks with the generals as well as detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The conflict in Myanmar has forced 2.7 million people from their homes since the coup in 2021, according to the United Nations.​

 

[Saif]

Bullets from other side of border hit houses in Teknaf

en.prothomalo.com

Bullets from other side of border hit houses in Teknaf
Staff Correspondent &
Correspondent Cox's Bazar and Teknaf
Updated: 29 Jul 2024, 13: 05

The photo shows the Teknaf border in Cox's Bazar.File photo

Bullets fired from Myanmar have created panic among the people living along the bordering areas of Teknaf, Cox's Bazar amid the intense conflict on the other side of the border.

Intense firings and explosions of mortar shells have taken place in the border area of Mongdu of Rakhine state since early Saturday.

At least 188 mortar shells exploded in the last 28 hours till 8:00am on Sunday.

Added to this were bullets fired from Myanmar hitting houses in several bordering villages, leaving the people in a state of fear. However, no causality was reported.

The Mongdu township is opposite Teknaf's Sadar and Subrang unions, and Naf river, which is four kilometres wide, separates Bangladesh from Myanmar. Fight has been on between the pro-independence armed group Arakan Army (AA) and the junta forces over the last five months.

According to Sadar union parishad chairman Ziaur Rahman and Subrang union parishad chairman Nur Hossain, mortar shells and grenades exploded all of a sudden around 4:00am on Saturday after a break of five days. Sound of explosions was heard from 10-12 bordering villages intermittently until 8:00am on Sunday with bullets fired from rifles in Myanmar landing in this side of the border, causing a rise in panic among people.

Four bullets from Myanmar fell in Shah Parir Diwip of Subrang union on 21 July. Two of those bullets landed in front of the shop owned by certain Hossain Ali in the Jetty Ghat area, once in the houseyard of certain Mohamamd Idris in Bazarpara area and the remaining one fell on the pillar of the homestead of Mohammad Ayas in Bazarpara.

Mohamamd Idris and Mohammad Ayas said two bullets fell between 8:00am and 8:30am, and had anyone been on the spot, they might have been hurt. People are afraid of coming out of their homes fearing more bullets.

Amir Hossain, 55, is a fisherman from Jaliapara of Shah Parir Diwip. He said at least 500 fishermen from this area cannot fish in Naf river. There is no alternative income source either. Meanwhile, the fight is intensifying in Rakhine. People from the fishing village are worried about what they will do if the situation does not improve. According to these chairmen, bullets mostly fell on the Bangladesh side of Naf river, nearby shrimp enclosures and mangrove forests.

Four bullets also fell in Mistrypara area of Shah Parir Diwip on Saturday. On information, members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) came to the spot and recovered the bullet shells.

Saying that people cannot move freely, Subrang union parishad member Abdus Salam added, "We live near in the bordering area and we are passing time in a constant state of fear. Everything can be seen from this side of the border. Till today, people were frightened of the sound of explosions, and bullets from other sider have become a new fear now."

Prothom Alo could not reach BGB Teknaf-2 battalion commander and Coast Guard's Teknaf station commander for comment after several attempts. Officials of both agencies have been reluctant to talk to media about the border situation since the beginning.

However, Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Adnan Chowdhury confirmed the bullets crossing over the border. He said he learned that bullets fired from Myanmar fell in several places of Shah Parir Diwip. Explosions also took place in Rakhine state. Each village along the Teknaf border has been brought under special monitoring. Besides, people are being alerted about safety, he added.​

 

[Saif]

Junta extends state of emergency by six months in Myanmar

Myanmar’s junta extended the state of emergency by six months on Wednesday, delaying fresh polls it has promised to hold as it battles opposition to its coup.

www.newagebd.net

Junta extends state of emergency by six months in Myanmar
Agence France-Presse . Yangon 31 July, 2024, 18:26

This photo taken on July 3, 2024 shows members of ethnic minority armed group Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) preparing their weapons amid clashes with Myanmar's military in Kyaukme in Myanmar's northern Shan State. | AFP photo

Myanmar's junta extended the state of emergency by six months on Wednesday, delaying fresh polls it has promised to hold as it battles opposition to its coup.

The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the February 2021 coup which ended a 10-year experiment with democracy and sparked mass protests and a crackdown on dissent.

Three years and a half years later, the junta is struggling to crush widespread armed opposition and recently suffered a series of stunning losses to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups.

The junta had been unable to hold fresh polls as planned following an initial two-year state of emergency 'due to the terrorist acts' by its opponents, broadcaster MRTV reported.

All the members of the junta-stacked National Defence and Security Council 'unanimously decided to extend the period of the state of emergency for another six months,' MRTV said.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing had proposed the extension 'in order to prepare valid and accurate ballots' for the election the junta has promised to hold, possibly in 2025.

The extension was also needed to 'carry out the population census and in order to continue the implementation of the work to be done,' MRTV said.

Under the military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the junta has said is still in force, authorities are required to hold fresh elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted.

The military seized power after making unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the 2020 elections which Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide.

It has extended the state of emergency multiple times since as it battles established ethnic minority armed groups and newer pro-democracy 'People's Defence Forces'.

In recent months it has suffered a string of battlefield defeats to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups in the north and west of the country.

Last week the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) claimed it had seized the northern town of Lashio, which sits on a vital trade highway to China and is home to the military's northeastern command.

The junta denied the claim.

The loss of Lashio and the regional military command would be a huge blow to the junta, which has lost territory to the MNDAA and other armed groups in recent weeks.

In January the MNDAA captured the city of Laukkai near Myanmar's border with China after around 2,000 junta troops surrendered, in one of the military's biggest defeats in decades.

Since the coup fighting between the military and its opponents has forced 2.7 million people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

More than 5,400 people have been killed and 27,000 arrested in the junta's crackdown on dissent since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

The junta has said it will hold fresh elections in 2025.

But critics say the proposed polls will be neither free nor fair.

Last year the junta-stacked election commission announced that Suu Kyi's NLD would be dissolved for failing to re-register under a tough new military-drafted electoral law.​

 

[Saif]

9 Rohingya die after boat capsizes near Teknaf

The dead bodies of nine Rohingya, including three children, have been recovered from the coast of Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf Upazila. As many as 22 others have been reported missing over the incident. According to public representatives, the victims were trying to enter Bangladesh territory

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

9 Rohingya die after boat capsizes near Teknaf
bdnews24.com
Published :
Aug 06, 2024 22:41
Updated :
Aug 06, 2024 22:41

The dead bodies of nine Rohingya, including three children, have been recovered from the coast of Cox's Bazar's Teknaf Upazila. As many as 22 others have been reported missing over the incident.

According to public representatives, the victims were trying to enter Bangladesh territory by sea from Myanmar, according to bdnews24.com.

Md Adnan Chowdhury, the chief executive officer of Teknaf, said that the boat carrying the Rohingya capsized in the sea near Habirchhara and Rajarchhara point areas of Teknaf Sadar Union on Tuesday.

Of the bodies recovered from the coast, three are children, four women and two men. He also said that two people were rescued alive following the incident.

However, the officials have yet to identify the victims.

Abdur Rashid, a member of Ward no 1 of Teknaf Sadar Union, told bdnews24.com that a boat carrying 31 Rohingya capsized while trying to flee Myanmar's Rakhine State. They were on their way to Bangladesh to escape the conflict raging in Myanmar.

Although a few of them managed to swim ashore, several passengers of the boat drowned in the sea. The bodies of nine people were recovered with the help of the locals on Tuesday. At least 22 of them are still missing.

According to Abdur Rashid, preparations are underway to hand over the dead bodies to the families of the victims in various Rohingya shelters located in Teknaf, which are under the Upazila administration.

Adnan Chowdhury said legal action is being taken over the incident.

He also added that a few of the Rohingya men were detained while they tried to infiltrate the borders. They are currently in the custody of the BGB.​

 

[Saif]

13 more Myanmar citizens take shelter in Bangladesh

Amid a conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group in Myanmar’s Rakhine, 13 more members of the country's Border Guard Police (BGP) took shelter in Bangladesh on Wednesday morning

en.prothomalo.com

13 more Myanmar citizens take shelter in Bangladesh
UNBCox's Bazar
Published: 15 Aug 2024, 09: 39

13 more members of the country's Border Guard Police (BGP) took shelter in Bangladesh on Wednesday morning UNB

Amid a conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group in Myanmar’s Rakhine, 13 more members of the country's Border Guard Police (BGP) took shelter in Bangladesh on Wednesday morning.

So far, a total of 123 BGP members have taken refuge in Bangladesh, said Teknaf-2 BGB Commander Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed.

Colonel Mohiuddin said the BGP members infiltrated through the Sabrang border on Wednesday morning due to internal conflict in Myanmar.

Later, they surrendered to the BGB with a pistol and 25 rounds of ammunition.

The process of repatriation has started and they will be sent back soon, he added​

 

[Saif]

UN fears repeat of 2017 atrocities against Rohingyas

The United Nations said on Friday it fears a repeat of the 2017 atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning a human tragedy was...

www.newagebd.net

UN fears repeat of 2017 atrocities against Rohingyas
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 23 August, 2024, 21:23

Volker Türk. | File photo.

The United Nations said on Friday it fears a repeat of the 2017 atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning a human tragedy was unfolding in Rakhine State.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk voiced grave alarm about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine where, he said, hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed while trying to flee fighting.

Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the rebel Arakan Army attacked forces of Myanmar’s ruling junta in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021.

The AA says it is fighting for more autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population in the state, which is also home to around 6,00,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Rakhine in 2017 during a crackdown by the military that is now the subject of a United Nations genocide court case.

‘Thousands of Rohingya have been forced to flee on foot, with the Arakan Army herding them repeatedly into locations that offer scant safe haven,’ Turk said in a statement.

‘As the border crossings to Bangladesh remain closed, members of the Rohingya community are finding themselves trapped between the military and its allies and the Arakan Army, with no path to safety.’

Bangladesh is now home to around one million Rohingya refugees.

‘This month marks seven years since the military operations which drove 7,00,000 across the border into Bangladesh. Despite the world saying ‘never again’, we are once more witnessing killings, destruction and displacement in Rakhine,’ said Turk.

The UN high commissioner for human rights said parties to the armed conflict were denying responsibility for attacks against the Rohingya, which ‘stretches the bounds of credulity’, he said.

The UN Human Rights Office said that according to its information, the military and the Arakan Army have both committed serious human rights violations and abuses against the Rohingya.

These include extrajudicial killings, some involving beheadings, abductions, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages, and arson attacks.

‘Both the military and the Arakan Army bear direct responsibility for the human tragedy that is unfolding in Rakhine,’ said Turk.

‘These atrocities demand an unequivocal response: those responsible must be held accountable, and justice must be pursued relentlessly.

‘Recurrence of the crimes and horrors of the past must be prevented as a moral duty and a legal necessity.’

Turk called on both parties to cease attacks on civilians and urged ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to take all necessary measures to protect the Rohingya.​

 

[Saif]

Rohingyas to observe ‘Genocide Remembrance Day’

The displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, who are now sheltered in Bangladesh, will observe “Genocide Remembrance Day” today.

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Rohingyas to observe ‘Genocide Remembrance Day’

Reuters file photo

The displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, who are now sheltered in Bangladesh, will observe "Genocide Remembrance Day" today.

Around a million Rohingya people fled ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar junta troops to take refuge in Bangladesh following military crackdown in Rakhine State on August 25, 2017.

Since then, they have been living in camps of Ukhiya and Teknaf of Cox's Bazar.

Meanwhile, no less than 20,000 Rohingyas crossed Naf river and entered Bangladesh to take shelter in the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar in a fresh exodus amid violent clashes between Arakan Army and Myanmar troops since August 4-5 this year, said Rohingya leaders at the camps.

Kamal Hossain, chairman of the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar National Representative Committee, termed the recent attacks on the community as the second wave of genocide.

"Over 20,000 Rohingays have come to Bangladesh after the Arakan Army launched brutal attacks on the community recently. They are now living at the camps in Cox's Bazar with their relatives or acquaintances. The previously sheltered Rohingyas are sharing food with the newcomers despite suffering from shortage due to limited rations," he said.

However, government officials have no specific data about the number of new arrivals.

Contacted, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, said they have no specific data on how many new Rohingyas have come to the camps recently when Bangladesh was facing a troubled situation.

At present, Bangladesh's stance is not to allow any more Rohingyas in the country, Mizanur said. However, he said they are contacting their high-ups to arrange food for the new arrivals on humanitarian ground.

Rashida Begum, a Rohingya woman who arrived on August 8, said she and her family members had taken shelter at a relative's house in Rakhine's Maungdaw Township for 15 days before entering Bangladesh.

The Arakan Army had tried to stop them from leaving the country to use them as human shields, she added.

Meanwhile, at least 100 bodies of Rohingyas were recovered from river bank and sea coast in Teknaf and were later buried on different graveyards and other areas on the shore stretching from Lada to Shahporir Dwip between August 4 and August 21.

They were assumed to have died after their boats capsized on the way to Teknaf.

Confirming the matter, Adnan Chowdhury, UNO of Teknaf, said, "As far as I know, over 100 bodies were recovered and buried by locals and Rohingyas on different shores."

Khin Maung Thein, a Rohingya human rights activist, said he along with Rohingya volunteers had arranged for burial of 20 bodies of Rohingya people, including one of a pregnant woman.

"The bodies bore numerous injury marks. Some had amputated legs," he added.​

 

[Saif]

No fresh move in sight for Rohingya return

No fresh initiative has been taken by the interim government for Rohingya repatriation, as Bangladesh could not send back even a single person from the over 12 lakh displaced people in...

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No fresh move in sight for Rohingya return
Mustafizur Rahman with Tarekur Rahman in Cox’s Bazar 25 August, 2024, 00:06

No fresh initiative has been taken by the interim government for Rohingya repatriation, as Bangladesh could not send back even a single person from the over 12 lakh displaced people in Myanmar to their homeland in the past seven years since the latest influx began in 2017.

The moves initiated by the previous government to repatriate the persecuted Rohingyas to the Rakhine State of Myanmar, facing a civil war situation for around three years, did not bear any outcome, according to officials.

The foreign ministry’s Myanmar wing director general, Ferdousi Shahriar, said that there had been no progress so far in the return of Rohingyas, sheltered in Bangladesh camps as a China-backed project to repatriate some 1,000 Rohingyas on a pilot basis remained stalled for months.

She said that they did not get any fresh instructions on the issue from the interim government, which was formed on August 8 with professor Mohammad Yunus as chief adviser following the August 5 fall of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India amid a student-led mass uprising, ending her 15-year-long regime.

‘We are expecting fresh directives exclusively to look into the issue of Rohingya repatriation following the changeover in the government,’ Ferdousi told New Age on Saturday.

She said that the joint efforts for the Rohingya repatriation could not make any headway as there was a civil war situation in Myanmar, which made the conditions not favourable for their return to the Rakhine State.

The overthrown government of the Awami League has blamed on several occasions both international communities, including the United Nations Refugee Agency and Myanmar’s military regime, for its failure to return Rohingya people from Bangladesh after the large-scale exodus that began on this day in 2017 amid a military crackdown in Rakhine State.

The United Nations said on Friday it feared a repeat of the 2017 atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning of an unfolding human tragedy in Rakhine State, the Agence France-Presse reported from Geneva.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk voiced grave alarm about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine, where he said hundreds of civilians had reportedly been killed while trying to flee fighting.

Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the rebel Arakan Army attacked forces of Myanmar’s ruling junta in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021, according to the AFP report published on Friday.

Although international communities, including UN organisations, assured time and again that they would facilitate the return of the forcibly displaced people by creating a congenial atmosphere in Myanmar, not a single Rohingya could be sent back home since the signing of instruments between Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2018 for repatriation.

Bangladesh has also sought the cooperation of China and Japan, among others, to expedite the repatriation process, as they have leverage over Myanmar.

Officials said that the number of Rohingya people has already crossed 12 lakh following the latest exodus of over seven lakh persecuted Myanmar nationals who fled a military crackdown in Rakhine State to Bangladesh for shelter.

Rohingya community leader Mohammed Syed, who has been residing in a camp at Ukhia in Cox’s Bazar for around seven years, said that they did not like to live the confined life anymore and wanted to return voluntarily to their homeland without further delay on the assurance that their rights as citizens would be fulfilled.

‘We have been living here for a long time, but we cannot forget our motherland. If we even remain unfed in Myanmar, we feel we will have freedom there,’ he told New Age.

Hamid Hossain, another Rohingya leader at Kutupalang in Ukhia, expressed uncertainty about the fate of the move for their return as the population of their community was increasing every year.

‘We don’t know whether such a big Rohingya community would be able to return to their homeland by realising our demands. But we want to return to our country of birth. Our future is uncertain here,’ he added.

At least two attempts to start the repatriation of the displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar failed, as they refused to return home without a guarantee of their citizenship and security.

Rohingyas observe this day with various programmes including discussion meetings, rallies, and prayer sessions for their relatives killed during the Myanmar military crackdown on this day and later on.​

 

[Saif]

World should act to stop repeat of 2017 Rohingya atrocities

UN FEARS for a likely repeat of the 2017 atrocities that Myanmar’s security forces committed against the Rohingyas in Rakhine State against the background of an unfolding tragedy now brings to the fore a couple of issues for the global forum itself and the world community to seriously consider...

www.newagebd.net

World should act to stop repeat of 2017 Rohingya atrocities
25 August, 2024, 00:00

UN FEARS for a likely repeat of the 2017 atrocities that Myanmar’s security forces committed against the Rohingyas in Rakhine State against the background of an unfolding tragedy now brings to the fore a couple of issues for the global forum itself and the world community to seriously consider. The UN human rights chief has voiced grave alarm about a sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, especially in Rakhine State, which is home to about 600,000 Rohingya people, where hundreds of civilians are reported to have been killed when they tried to flee fighting. The situation has exacerbated into clashes in Rakhine since the Arakan Army attacked forces of Myanmar’s ruling junta in November 2023, ending a ceasefire that had largely been held since a military coup in 2021. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas fled Rakhine in 2017 during a military crackdown, now the subject of a UN genocide court case. As the border crossings to Bangladesh remain closed, the Rohingyas find themselves trapped between the Myanmar military and its allies and the Arkan Army with no path to safety. The proposition is bad for the Rohingyas, about 700,000 of whom entered Bangladesh where the Rohingya population in shelters is more than one million.

This is also bad for the world community, which earlier said ‘never again’ but now appears to be failing again as killings, destruction and displacement are witnessed once again in Rakhine. Parties to the armed conflict in Rakhine, as the UN high commissioner for human rights says, are denying responsibility for attacks against the Rohingyas which ‘stretches the bounds of cruelty.’ Such a situation is also bad for Bangladesh, where more than a million of the Rohingyas have lived in shelters and camps, with no past to fall back on and no future to look forward to. And, none of the Rohingyas could be repatriated to Rakhine State since August 2017 despite some efforts that petered out mostly because of Myanmar’s unwillingness and continued efforts that have created a fearful situation there to stop the Rohingyas from willingly returning. The United Nations, which earlier likened Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingyas to ‘a textbook example of ethnic cleansing,’ has, along with the international community, therefore, a role to play in preventing the deplorable situation that it fears in Rakhine State again especially now that it has already sensed what could be in store. The recurrence of the crimes and horrors that happened to the Rohingyas in the past should be prevented as a moral duty and legal necessity of the world community.

Whilst the world community should act to stop a repeat of the atrocities that Myanmar committed against the Rohingyas in 2017 and step up efforts on international forums for the repatriation of the Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, Bangladesh authorities must redouble its efforts bilaterally, regionally and internationally for a resolution of the deteriorating situation in Rakhine State and the repatriation of the Rohingyas. Bangladesh authorities must also remain alert to any such efforts, perhaps by the adversaries, to create instability in the politically changed context of Bangladesh.​