BGB on high alert to block Myanmar civilians from entering Bangladesh: Momen

Bangladesh border guards have been put on high alert so that no Myanmar national can enter Bangladesh territory following an airstrike near the frontier region in Bandarban district, a senior minister confirmed, bdnews24.com reports. 

Reports coming out of Myanmar suggest a full-blown armed conflict has broken out between the country’s military, officially known as Tatmadaw, and an insurgency group called Arakan Army, or AA, at the moment.

The armed struggle has been going on for the last three weeks and intensified recently, according to the reports.

“We fear that like other times, internally displaced Myanmar civilians, who find themselves in the middle of warfare between militant insurgency groups and the Myanmarese military, will attempt to cross the border [to enter Bangladesh]. But this time, we won’t let that happen,” Foreign Minister AK Momen said after a government programme with tea workers in Sylhet on Saturday.

“Intel report, however, suggests this time these civilians have not been planning to cross Bangladesh border, which is good news.”

The minister also said they are in constant contact with the Myanmar mission in Dhaka regarding the development.

“Ambassador U Aung Kyaw Moe [Myanmar envoy in Dhaka] assured us that he will speak to his bosses in Naypyidaw so that further incidents like this do not happen,” Momen said.

Bandarban district police earlier in the day confirmed that two fighter jets and two attack helicopters, all with Myanmar military insignia, have fired as many as 10 shells and at least 35 rounds of bullets respectively within the Bangladesh territory along the Naikhongchhari borderline.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Bandarban Superintendent of Police Tariqul Islam said the attack choppers and the fighter jets were spotted near the border pillar No 40 and 41 around 9:15 am, causing panic among locals.