Over 1,300 people illegally cross border into Bangladesh last month

By Admin 09 Nov 2024

DMG Newsroom
9 November 2024, Buthidaung

Nearly 1,300 Myanmar nationals who illegally crossed the border into Bangladesh were arrested by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in October.

Among the detainees were civilians displaced by fighting between Myanmar’s military regime and the Arakkha Army (AA), merchants and drug traffickers.

One source on the ground said: “Most of the detainees were displaced people from Arakan State.”

According to the BGB based in Teknaf, Bangladesh, a total of 1,326 people illegally crossed the border into Bangladesh in October. Twenty-eight Indian citizens were punished under the law and 1,298 Myanmar nationals were handed over to the regime.

Gold, clothing, fuel, cosmetics and drugs as well as guns, grenades and ammunition were seized from those who illegally crossed the border, according to the BGB. Smuggled goods worth 2.258 billion Bangladeshi Taka (US$18.8 million) were seized, it said.

One Arakanese politician said: “There are difficulties to improve border security due to armed conflicts in Arakan State. The Arakkha Army is taking measures to ensure border security, but it is beyond its capacity to control all the border. This is why people are illegally crossing the border.”

The AA arrested 20 Bangladeshi fishermen on Tuesday. Following negotiations with the BGB, it released them on Thursday.

The AA has been working to ensure peace and stability, and enforce the rule of law and security along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. But the group still cannot focus enough attention on the border due to its ongoing armed conflict with Myanmar’s military regime in the state.