29 Myanmar border guards take shelter in Bangladesh

At least 29 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) have taken shelter in Bangladesh through the Ashartali border in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban.

Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) Public Relations Officer Shariful Islam confirmed the matter on Monday noon.

A BGB official, requesting anonymity, said the BGP members are currently kept in the tea garden belonging to Nurul Alam Company in Naikhongchhari. From there, they will be disarmed and transferred to another place.

Former chairman of Naikhongchhari Sadar UP Taslim Iqbal Chowdhury said that 29 BGP members of Myanmar hid in no man's land along the border and entered Bangladesh after staying there without food. 

More than 300 members of various forces, including Myanmar's border guards, took shelter in Bangladesh due to the ongoing conflict in Rakhine state. 

However, they were sent back on February 15. 

Fighting between Myanmar’s junta and the Arakan Army (AA) in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state has intensified. 

Casualties have also been recorded in Bangladesh, with two people killed by an errant mortar round this month and several injured by gunshots from across the border.

Rebel fighters have recently taken control of the Myanmar border region, and are seeking to oust junta forces from elsewhere in the state.

Our Bandarban correspondent S Bashu Das contributed to this report