People living near the Ghumdhum border of Bangladesh are passing days in fear as shelling continues on the Myanmar side.
Despite there being no casualties in Bangladesh, primary schools along the Ghumdhum border were closed today (29 January), confirmed Triratan Chakma, primary education officer of Naikhongchkari upazila.
He said, Baish Phari Government Primary School, Bhaja Bania Government Primary School, Tumbru Government Primary School, Paschim Kul Tumbru Government Primary School and Dakshin Ghumdhum Government Primary School were kept closed.
After a few days' gap, sounds of gunshots were once again being heard on the Ghumdhum-Tumbru border since Saturday, confirmed Chairman of Ghumdhum Union Jahangir Aziz.
UP member of Ghumdhum Union Md Anwar Hossain said gunfire has been heard intermittently since morning in Tumbru West Kul, Ward-1 of Ghumdhum Union, bordering Pillar-33.
Helicopters were also seen flying near the border on the Myanmar side at the Ukhiya-Teknaf border on Monday morning.
Chairman of Huaikang Union Parishad Noor Ahmad Anwari said the shelling on the other side of the border has created panic among the people living near the border.
Ukhiya Palangkhali Union Parishad Chairman M Gafur Uddin said that panic is spreading in the area due to the ongoing firing between Myanmar's army and rebels near the Anjuman Para border of Palangkhali.
Bangladesh's security forces along the Myanmar border remain alert amid growing tensions in the neighbouring country, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said on Saturday.
He said tensions prevailed in Myanmar with brief pauses and Bangladesh forces have remained alert from much earlier.
The foreign minister said such a tense situation would certainly have a negative impact on the efforts to repatriate Rohingyas to their place of origin in Myanmar.
Despite there being no casualties in Bangladesh, primary schools along the Ghumdhum border were closed today (29 January).
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At least 106 members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) fled to Bangladesh and took refuge in a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) outpost in Turmbru, Bandarban after being attacked by rebels.
Shariful Islam, public relations officer of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said 106 BGP members have so far entered Bangladesh through Tumbru border in Naikhangchhari upazila of Bandarban district with arms and ammunition due to the ongoing clashes inside Myanmar.
These people have been taken to safety after the weapons they carried with them were deposited in the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) cache, he said.
The injured BGP men are undergoing treatment in different hospitals in Cox's Bazar district.
Rebel factions in Arakan state have engaged in clashes with Myanmar's military junta since Saturday (3 February), primarily over the control of a border camp. The ongoing conflict has been marked by persistent gunfire, mortar shells, and rocket explosions.
Officials have reported intense fighting, and there are concerns about the use of army helicopters strafing rebel fighters, heightening worries of substantial casualties.
International media reports suggested several more insurgent groups, some forming alliances among them, are confronting the government army in several parts of Myanmar.
Meanwhile, two people were killed this afternoon after heavy mortar shells reportedly fired from Myanmar landed and exploded inside Bangladesh on the Ghumdum border in Bandarban.
Bangladesh's border with Myanmar stretches 271.0 kilometers (168.4 miles), from the tri-point with India in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south.
At least 106 members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) fled to Bangladesh and took refuge in a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) outpost in Turmbru, Bandarban after being attacked by rebels. Shariful Islam, public relations officer of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said 106 BGP members have so...
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Amid the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, another 116 injured members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP), army, customs and civilians today fled to Bangladesh through the border in Cox's Bazar's Palongkhali union for refuge after being attacked by rebels, said the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
With this, the total number of fleeing members of Myanmar BGP, customs, army and civilians in Bangladesh this week stands at 264.
"So far, 264 members of Myanmar BGP, army, customs and civilians have entered Bangladesh with arms and ammunition due to the ongoing clashes inside Myanmar," said BGB HQ Public Relations Officer Shariful Islam.
Of them, 113 entered through the border in Turmbru, Bandarban, 114 entered through the Palongkhali upazila area of Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya, and two entered from the border around Ghumdhum and Teknaf.
"They have been taken to safety after they surrendered their weapons to the BGB," he added.
The injured Myanmar border guard personnel are undergoing treatment in different hospitals in Cox's Bazar district, the BGB official added.
Rebel factions in Arakan state have engaged in clashes with Myanmar's military junta since Saturday (3 February), primarily over the control of a border camp.
Persistent gunfire, mortar shells, and rocket explosions have marked the ongoing conflict.
Bangladeshis living in the border area have reported intense fighting, and there are concerns about the use of army helicopters strafing rebel fighters, heightening worries of substantial casualties.
International media reports suggested several more insurgent groups, some forming alliances among them, are confronting the government army in several parts of Myanmar.
Meanwhile, two people were killed inside the Bangladesh border last afternoon after heavy mortar shells reportedly fired from Myanmar landed and exploded inside the Ghumdum border in Bandarban.
Among the Myanmar border guard personnel who crossed the border into Bangladesh to take refuge, 4 who had bullet injuries, were admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Monday (5 February) night.
"Four Myanmar BGP men with bullet injuries were taken to the CMCH at around 10:30pm and admitted to the casualty ward of the hospital," Sub-Inspector (SI) Nur Alam Ashek, in charge of the CMCH police outpost, said.
"They are in critical condition," he added, quoting the physicians of the hospital.
Bangladesh's border with Myanmar stretches 271.0 kilometres (168.4 miles), from the tri-point with India in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south.
Meanwhile, the BGB said it is on high alert so that no group including Rohingyas can infiltrate through the Myanmar border during the ongoing conflict between the rebel factions in the Rakhine state with Myanmar's military junta.
"Additional BGB personnel have been deployed in the border areas to closely monitor the situation," BGB Cox's Bazar Region Commander Brigadier General Morshed Alam told reporters at a press briefing in Bandarban on Monday (5 February) evening.
Bangladesh played a critical role in sheltering over a million Muslim minority Rohingyas who fled their home in Rakhine and took refuge in Bangladesh to evade persecution, particularly after a 2017 army crackdown but the current crisis visibly has little to do with the Rohingyas.
The total number of fleeing members of Myanmar BGP, customs, army and civilians in Bangladesh this week stands at 264
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