As many as 95 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) have taken shelter in Bangladesh along the Tumbru border amid a conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group Arakan Army in Rakhine State.

Bangladesh Border Guard Public Relations Officer Md Shariful Islam communicated the development to the media through a press release on Monday (Feb 5) morning.

As the armed confrontation persists between Myanmar troops and the Arakan Army, numerous families, including those with young children, have fled the area on foot, carrying minimal supplies. 

At least 15 of the BGP members had been injured in clashes, the BGB said, adding that two of them were in critical condition and were undergoing treatment at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital.

Shariful Islam said throughout the day on Sunday, the Arakan Army and the Border Guard Police exchanged fire inside Myanmar across the Tumbru border in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban.

The BGB had disarmed the 95 BGP members and taken them to a safe shelter, he added.

The residents of Palongkhali union in Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar were in a state of terror on Sunday due to the sound of gunshots and explosions across the border in Myanmar, UP Chairman Gafur Uddin told Dhaka Tribune, adding that there had been no firing since Monday morning. 

However, there were a couple of gunshots near the Tumbru border in Naikhongchhari upazila in the morning, said Shafiqul Islam, a member of Ghumdhum union parishad.

BDST: 1209 HRS, FEB 05, 2024
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