By Faisal Mahmud
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told Anadolu on Tuesday that it will be hard for Bangladesh “to take the hit of Myanmar’s violence anymore.”
The fallout from Myanmar's internal conflict is severely affecting Bangladesh, as hundreds of security forces as well as Rohingya flee fighting and seek sanctuary in Bangladesh.
Two Bangladeshis were killed in the border area because of the ongoing clashes.
“We have already been hosting more than a million Rohingya refugees,” said Mahmud, referring to Myanmar’s displaced ethnic people from the Rakhine region, the bulk of which had fled to Bangladesh in 2017 after the Myanmar army conducted what the UN human rights agency called a “genocide.”
“We can’t hold more Myanmar people,” said Mahmud.
Earlier Tuesday, Dhaka summoned Myanmar’s top diplomat in Bangladesh, U. Aung Kyaw Moe, to express concern and urge a resolution to the worsening crisis.
“We have expressed our concerns but I am not sure whether it will improve the situation there,” Mahmud told Anadolu.
Bangladesh’s border guard announced a “no more Rohingya entrance” policy Tuesday and sent back a boat carrying 65 Rohingya from the border area.
A total of 264 members of Border Guard Police, military, immigration personnel police and other agencies from Myanmar intruded into Bangladesh, according to the Bangladesh Border Guard.
Last month, 276 Burmese soldiers from Myanmar sought refuge in India's northeastern state of Mizoram.
It comes as at least three ethnic armed groups, known as the Brotherhood Alliance, have been fighting the junta regime for control of northern Myanmar since late October.
Many have been killed while China said it twice mediated a cease-fire between the warring parties.
Last month, several injuries were also reported inside China's southern Yunnan province due to shelling of artillery from Myanmar.
Delwar Hossain, professor of international relations at Dhaka University, told Anadolu that he is anticipating “further escalation of the border violence.”
He said the unprecedented incident of hundreds of Myanmar’s border guards fleeing to Bangladesh, abandoning their posts, speaks to the gravity of the situation.