Bangladesh on Thursday handed over 330 intruders from Myanmar, including members of its army, Border Guard Police (BGP), immigration officials and civilians who have crossed the border amid conflict between Myanmar military and armed rebel groups.
Of them, 302 are members of Border Guard Police (BGP), four BGP family members, two army personnel, 18 immigration officials and four civilians.
The intruders were escorted by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and handed over to the BGP.
The handover process started at 11:00am Inani Navy Jetty in Cox’s Bazar.
BGB director general Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui and the Myanmar envoy to Bangladesh U Aung Kyaw Moe were present at the handover ceremony.
The Bangladeshi ship Karnaphuli left Inani Jetty around 12:00pm with 165 of the people bound for the Myanmar Navy ship waiting at the maritime border of Bangladesh.
Later, a Coast Guard tugboat
carried the rest of the Myanmar nationals to Myanmar Navy ship waiting at the maritime border of Bangladesh.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui said the repatriation process has been completed successfully.
The weapons brought by the Myanmar nationals will be sent back through a separate process later, he added.
Myanmar envoy U Aung kyaw Moe thanked the Bangladesh government, BGB, Coast Guard and Navy for providing safe shelter to the BGP members and completing the successful repatriation process.
Earlier at 9:50am, a 5-member BGP delegation led by Myanmar Border Guard Police Colonel Myo Thura Naung arrived at Inani Naval Jetty in Cox’s Bazar by a Bangladesh Coast Guard ship to take the Myanmar nationals home.
Earlier, a repatriation committee led by Colonel Mehdi Hossain Kabir, the sector commander of Ramu sector of BGB, was formed.
The committee quickly communicated and coordinated with the concerned authorities of Myanmar and completed all the processes of repatriation of BGP and other members who took refuge in Bangladesh from Myanmar.
Since February 4, members of Myanmar security forces started fleeing to Bangladesh because of heavy fighting in Myanmar between the junta forces and rebel group Arakan Army.
Two people, including a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed when a mortar shell from Myanmar landed on a house premises at Jalpaitli village of Ghumdhum union in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban.
