264 Myanmar border, security force members now in Bangladesh: BGB

A total of 264 members of Myanmar's border and security forces have come to Bangladesh to escape the fighting between the Myanmar army and the rebel Arakan Army at the border between the two countries, according to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

Newly appointed BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui said a total of 115 crossed the border till last night.

"In the morning, 114 more came," he said in the capital this afternoon. "By the afternoon, 35 more joined them and the total now stands at 264.

The shelter seekers include members of immigration, Myanmar police and other agencies, said Shariful Islam, public relations officer (PRO) of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), adding that the BGB members disarmed them and took them to a safe shelter.

As heavy fighting continued in Myanmar, a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed yesterday when a mortar shell fired from Myanmar exploded in Bandarban's Ghumdhum union.

Several thousand Bangladeshis in the border areas feel insecure as bullets and mortar shells fired from Myanmar landed in Bangladesh over the last two days.