BANGLADESH NEWS
Despite heightened vigilance along the Myanmar border, a Rohingya family too stubborn to give up managed to enter the Bangladesh territory early yesterday.
The family of nine are here to find refuge from the ongoing sectarian turmoil in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.
Talking to at a house on Shah Pori Island yesterday evening, a 70-year-old member of the family said they left their home in Akiyab on Friday night after miscreants had attacked their village and set houses on fire.
While in flight from Akiyab, one of her daughters died and the family had to bury her at sea, said the emotion-chocked mother.
Another middle-aged member of the family said, “We left since we could no longer bear watching our husbands falling in the clashes.”
“For four long days we had been trying to enter Bangladesh territory on an engine boat but couldn't do so until Monday due to the resistance from border guards. So we made a desperate attempt at the dead of night,” she said, adding that a local elderly man who was out on Fazr prayers saw and gave shelter.
So far, dozens of people had been killed in the Rakhine violence, reports AFP.
Asked about the Rohingya influx, State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku yesterday said the injured refugees who had already entered Bangladesh were receiving treatment.
Meanwhile, a Myanmar citizen, who had received bullet injury in the abdomen and was under treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), died yesterday.
The deceased was identified as Kala Hossain, 50, son of Ali Hossain. He was admitted to the hospital early Monday. Doctors removed the bullet from his abdomen but could not save his life.
Along with Kala Hossain, injured Mohammad Selim, 20, and Mohammad Tayab, 20, were also admitted to CMCH. Doctors said Tayab suffered two bullet injuries in the head and was in critical condition.
Condition of Selim was stable and he was under observation, said a source, adding that doctors had removed one bullet from his chest.
A Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) team arrested Kala Hossain from Teknaf upazila health complex Sunday while police arrested Selim and Tayab at CMCH the same day on charge of intruding into Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, border troops, coastguards and other law enforcement agencies have stepped up vigilance along the border with Myanmar. They are urging the local boatmen and fishermen not to help Myanmar nationals cross the border.
BGB yesterday set up a temporary camp and started special monitoring at Monkhali point in Cox's Bazar while the local administration decided to check all the boats plying on the St Martin's Island-Teknaf-Monkhali Bazar route to prevent intrusion.
Movements of engine boats and fishing trawlers in the Naf river between Bangladesh and Myanmar have remained suspended for the last few days.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Cox's Bazaar Jainul Bari said all engine boats and fishing trawlers coming from the sea would be thoroughly checked.
Maj Shafiqur Rahman, second-in-command of BGB 42 Battalion, said they had information that after failing to enter the Bangladesh territory through Shah Pori Island and Teknaf points on Monday, the Myanmar intruders could try to cross the border through Monkhali point at Cox's Bazar.
BGB Sector Commander Col Golam Farooque Chowdhury yesterday visited the nine observatory posts along the Teknaf border and talked to border guards.
Abdul Mohaimen, general manager of United Land Port Teknaf Ltd that operates the land port, said unloading and delivery of goods at the port remained normal while no cargo boats had arrived there since Saturday due to the unrest in Myanmar.
The country has been incurring a loss of around TK 35-40 lakh in revenue each day, he said.
Meanwhile, three Bangladeshi traders who went to Myanmar on business purposes last week returned home Monday, said an immigration official at Teknaf land port.
He said 12 more Bangladeshi traders are still at Maungdaw in Myanmar. The immigration here had contacted their counterparts in Maungdaw to help the trapped return home safely
“We have come to know that the Bangladeshi nationals left their hotels and moved to safer locations,” said the immigration official.
He said around 259 Myanmar nationals remained stuck in Bangladesh due to the unrest in Rakhine state. They were here on a seven-day border pass, which had already expired, and now paying Tk 200 in fine for each day's stay, he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment