Rakhine Unrest: BGB alert over fresh Rohingya intrusion

The Border Guard Bangladesh remains on alert since Saturday for a possible renewed Rohingya intrusion amid frequent clashes between Myanmar security forces and Buddhist rebels in Rakhine state.

The BGB has deployed additional force to patrol the country's 54km border with Myanmar fearing intrusion through the Naf river and other border areas, said Asaduzzaman Chowdhury, director of BGB battalion 2 in Teknaf. 

“Fishing and other movement in the Naf river have been restricted and BGB remains cautious…. to prevent intrusion and also yaba smuggling,” he said.

Abdul Motaleb, chairman of Leda Rohingya Camp Development Committee in Teknaf, said a fresh exodus might take place if the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar affect Rohingyas.

In fact, a family of seven entered Bangladesh from Chindifrang of Bujidong on Thursday and took shelter at Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar.

The family is kept at the Kutupalong transit camp and will be taken to a temporary shelter camp, said Rezaul Karim, in-charge of the camp.

Meanwhile, 93 Rohingyas who came from India are also at the transit camp and will be taken to that temporary camp, he added. 

On January 9, Aljazeera reported that frequent clashes between Myanmar security forces and Buddhist rebels in Rakhine state have alarmed thousands of Rohingya refugees living in no-man's-land on the country's border with Bangladesh, as concerns grow over the intensified fighting.

More than 730,000 members of the mostly Muslim minority have fled Myanmar to escape a brutal military-led crackdown that started in 2017 and have taken shelter in sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh while many have been living in limbo on the border, unwilling to enter the settlements or return home.

They are now caught on the sidelines of clashes between Myanmar troops and the Arakan Army, an armed group seeking more autonomy for western Rakhine state's Buddhist-majority population.

"Heavy fighting is going on between the government troops and Arakan Army inside Myanmar," Rohingya leader Dil Mohammad told The Daily Star.

"The situation is very tense," he said.

On Wednesday, the United Nations said in a statement it was "deeply concerned" about the situation in the area.