40 Myanmar citizens, including border guards and army personnel, repatriated from Bangladesh
Among the 40, six individuals had been serving jail sentences in Bangladesh for crimes such as drug trafficking and murder after illegally crossing the border
A total of 40 Myanmar nationals, including 34 military and Border Guard Police (BGP) personnel, were repatriated to Myanmar from Cox's Bazar Airport today (7 May) via a special flight arranged by the Myanmar government.
The group included members of the Myanmar military and BGP who had fled to Bangladesh due to ongoing conflict in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Among the 40, six individuals had been serving jail sentences in Bangladesh for crimes such as drug trafficking and murder after illegally crossing the border.
According to airport officials, the Myanmar special aircraft departed from Cox's Bazar Airport at 2:45pm. Earlier in the day, at 11:15am, 34 personnel were escorted under tight Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police security to the airport. Around 11:45am, the six prisoners were brought from Cox's Bazar District Jail in a prison van.
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Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present to complete the immigration and verification formalities at the airport before handing the individuals over to Myanmar authorities.
Md Golam Mortaza Hossain, director of Cox's Bazar Airport, told The Business Standard that the repatriation involved special coordination due to the airport not being equipped for regular international passenger traffic. "The foreign ministry and other relevant departments arranged for the return under special protocol."
Brigadier General M M Imrul Hassan, commander of BGB's Cox's Bazar region, said the 34 military and BGP personnel had fled between 17 December last year and 11 January this year amid intense fighting in Rakhine, entering Bangladesh through Teknaf.
"Of the 34, 21 were BGP personnel and 13 were soldiers. They had been held in BGB custody since their arrival."
This repatriation marks the fifth such operation since unrest escalated in Myanmar. In four previous rounds, the Myanmar junta had taken back 876 of its nationals who had fled to Bangladesh. These included 330 people on 15 February 2024, 288 on 25 April, 134 on 9 June, and 124 on 29 September.
Meanwhile, 214 Bangladeshi nationals who had served jail terms in Myanmar and were repatriated through diplomatic channels.
