More Rohingyas try to seek shelter in Bangladesh as conflict rages in Myanmar

Amid the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, the country's Rohingya people are once again in the line of fire and are trying to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

Five Rohingyas, including a woman with bullet injuries, entered Bangladesh yesterday through Shah Porir Dwip jetty in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar.

They arrived from Myanmar crossing the Naf River around 4pm, said Abdus Salam, UP member of ward 9 of Teknaf Sabrang union. "Later, we informed BGB members and they reached the spot."

However, no statement was received from the Border Guard Bangladesh in this regard.

Teknaf police station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Osman Gani could not provide additional information on the incident. "I have heard the same as you have heard."

Lt Col Mohiuddin Ahmed, commanding officer of BGB Teknaf Battalion, said, "We are not accepting any infiltration. The BGB is on alert."

Mozammel Haque, president of the Rohingya Infiltration Prevention Committee in Teknaf, told The Business Standard more Rohingyas were gathering at the border and waiting for a chance to enter Bangladesh.

"Some are waiting with boats on the Naf River, but they can't get through due to the strict stance of the BGB," he added.

At least 40 Rohingyas have been killed, and 19,169 displaced in Myanmar's ongoing conflict, according to the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar National Representative Committee.

The Rohingyas are facing a harrowing second wave of atrocities, targeted intentionally despite being non-combatants, as the Rakhine Rebel group Arakan Army uses Rohingya villages as battlegrounds, said the organisation.

Sayedullah, a board member of the committee, said, "Rohingyas near the border want to come safely to Bangladesh. However, the people of Maungdaw refuse to leave their homes, fearing they won't be able to return if displaced again. They insist on staying, even if it means facing death there."

He added, "We've heard that the junta government is gathering Rohingyas in Maungdaw, urging them to take up arms against the Arakan Army. But Rohingyas are refusing and demanding citizenship instead."

The Arakan Army is also attacking Rohingyas, accusing them of siding with the junta government, according to The Irrawaddy, a news site founded by exiled Myanmar citizens.

Meanwhile, the junta government is pressuring Rohingyas to take up arms against the Arakan Army.

Around 6,00,000 Rohingyas live in Myanmar's Arakan state, while about 1.3 million are in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

In the latest conflict in Myanmar, Rebel factions in Arakan state have been engaged in clashes with Myanmar's military junta since 3 February, primarily over the control of Tumbru Right camp near the Bangladesh border.

The Bangladeshi locality is around 800 metres away from the Dhekibania border post in Myanmar. A narrow branch of the Naf River and forests lie between Dhekibania and Ghumdhum in Bandarban.

Due to the close proximity, bullets and mortar shells have struck residences in Bangladesh during the shelling in Tumbru Right Camp.

Two people were killed inside the Bangladesh border on 5 February after heavy mortar shells reportedly fired from Myanmar landed and exploded inside the Ghumdum border.

At least ten people in Bangladesh have been injured so far. 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.

At least 330 Myanmar citizens had entered Bangladesh seeking shelter since the conflict erupted. However, the Myanmar government took them back on 15 February.