14 Myanmar border police flee to Bangladesh as junta fights rebels

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) — Fourteen members of the Myanmar border guard police fled to Bangladesh in escalating clashes between the Southeast Asian nation's military and the rebel Arakan Army along its western border, officials confirmed Sunday.

Myanmar's junta government has been fighting armed rebel groups for months within its borders, including along the border with hilly Bandarban district in southeastern Bangladesh.

"They fled and their weapons and ammunition have been deposited," a Bangladeshi border security official confirmed to Anadolu, asking not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Separately, Bandarban's Deputy Commissioner Shah Mujahid Uddin told Anadolu that he was aware of reports about the incident but had no official confirmation.

Meanwhile, at least one Bangladeshi national was injured by stray bullets fired from Myanmar.

Artillery fire also fell within Bangladesh from Myanmar's western Ghumdhum region late on Saturday, with the sound of shelling continuing until Sunday.

With primary schools along the border already closed, the shelling caused panic among residents of border villages, the district official also confirmed.

"But the situation is under control. Border residents have been asked to stay on alert and in safe shelter. BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh), police and security forces are all on alert to deal with any situation at the border," he continued.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told reporters recently in Dhaka that border forces are on alert to prevent a fresh influx of refugees from neighboring Myanmar from crossing the border.

About 1.2 million refugees, members of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslim community, are currently taking shelter in the Cox’s Bazar region of southeastern Bangladesh. The majority of Rohingya living in Bangladesh fled a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine, Myanmar in 2017.