UPDATE - 14 Myanmar border guards take refuge in Bangladesh as junta fights rebels

UPDATES WITH REACTION FROM HOME MINISTER, CHANGE IN HEADER, DECK AND BODY

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.

Bangladesh's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters in Dhaka that 14 Myanmar Border Police officers entered Bangladesh for “self-defense”.

They were detained, said the minister, adding that “efforts are being made to send them back (to Myanmar) through the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Security along the border with Myanmar has been beefed up, he said.

The minister also said that the Rohingya return process may be delayed due to the current situation in Myanmar.

Earlier, a Bangladeshi border security official confirmed to Anadolu that the Myanmar border force members "fled to Bangladesh and their weapons and ammunition have been deposited."

Bandarban's Deputy Commissioner Shah Mujahid Uddin told Anadolu that at least one Bangladeshi national was injured by stray bullets fired from Myanmar.

Gunshots were also fired in Bangladesh from Myanmar's western Ghumdhum region late on Saturday, with the sound of shelling continuing until Sunday, he said.

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.