Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk:A flag meeting of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) began at border this afternoon to resolve the “volatile situation” that ensued withBurma reinforcing its border along Tombru frontier.
The flag meeting began around 3:30pm at Ghumdhum Border Observation Post (BOP) in Naikhyangchhari Upazila, Bandarban, our Cox’s Bazar correspondent reports quoting Lt Col Manjurul Ahsan Khan, commanding officer of BGB battalion 34 in the district.
Myanmar responded and agreed to hold the meeting after BGB officials sent a protest letter to Myanmar authorities yesterday, said BGB official Manjurul Ahsan Khan.
Meanwhile, Dilip Kumar Banik, deputy commissioner of Bandarban visited the no-man’s land of Ghumdhum and Tombru borders in Naikhyangchhari this morning, reports our Bandarban correspondent.
Myanmar yesterday deployed a huge contingent of its army with heavy weapons along the Tombru border with Bangladesh. Frightened, some of the refugees on the adjacent no-man’s land entered the Bangladesh territory.
Myanmar made the move 10 days after it had agreed to take back the Rohingyas from the no-man’s land.
Terming the army deployment a violation of border norms, BGB also increased its strength along the border at Bandarban’s Naikhyangchhari to “face any circumstances”.
Besides, a member of Myanmar security forces fired a blank shot around 7:50pm yesterday following an altercation with some Rohingyas on the no-man’s land, Maj Iqbal Ahmed, second-in-command of BGB-34 Battalion in Cox’s Bazar said yesterday.
Bangladesh Foreign Ministry summoned Myanmar Ambassador in Dhaka U Lwin Oo and protested the deployment of additional troops on the bordering area in Myanmar.
BGB also called on the Myanmar authorities for holding a border-level flag meeting but there was no response from the Myanmar authorities immediately.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh after insurgent attacks on Aug. 25 sparked a military crackdown that the United Nation as has said amounted to ethnic cleansing, with reports of arson attacks, murder and rape.
Some 6,500 Rohingyas had been living on the no-man’s land near the Bangladeshi village of Konapara since they fled their homes fearing persecution in Rakhine.
