An injured Rohingya woman with four others in a dinghy on Saturday sought refuge to the Border Guard Bangladesh at Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf amid continued firing and shelling in bordering Rakhine, Myanmar, for the last three days.
Details of identities of the Rohingya family could not be known but witnesses said that the woman was given primary treatment in Rakhine and was advised to take better treatment.
Apart from the injured woman, the dinghy had in it the boatman and three others, possibly her family members.
The Border Guard Bangladesh personnel stopped them from getting to the jetty.
No comment from the BGB was available until 8:30pm.
Shah Porir Dwip union parishad member Abdus Salam said that he saw the boat with its occupants was adrift until 8:00pm on Saturday.
He said the boat was spotted at about 5:00pm.
Local residents said that the BGB prevented them from talking with the Rohingyas.
Panic gripped the residents of Shah Porir Dwip and Saint Martin’s islands in Teknaf upazila amid the sound of gunfights and shelling from heavy weapons as fights between Myanmar junta forces and ethnic rebel group Arakan Army raged on in neighbouring Rakhine.
The firing in Myanmar along the border of the two areas started on Thursday after Bangladesh deported 330 Myanmar soldiers and civilians who fled conflicts in Rakhine in February 4–8.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said at a programme in Chattogram on Friday that no one from Myanmar carrying firearms would be allowed anymore, confirming that some Myanmar rebels had also entered Bangladesh.
The heavily armed BGB and Coast Guard have been patrolling the bordering Naf River and adjacent areas since February 12.
The local administration has suspended the movement of civilian ships between Teknaf and Saint Martin’s since February 10.
During attending a programme on the day of sending back 330 Myanmar troops and civilians on a ship in Cox’s Bazar, BGB director general Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui on Thursday stressed that no more influx would be allowed.
At least two people were killed due to an explosion of an artillery shell on Naikyangchhari border in Bandarban and two other bodies were found killed along Cox’s Bazar border in February 4–12.
Referring to the Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the Arakan Army, Thailand-based Irrawaddy news portal reported on Friday that the war in the Rakhine state is intensifying as the Arakan Army increases its attacks on junta targets in three coastal townships, namely Maungdaw, Ramree and Rathedaung.
It reported that the junta’s military is attempting to defend its remaining bases in the three townships by bombing around them in a campaign coordinating by its army, navy and air force.
The Arakan Army, however, said that it will continue to attack the junta targets until the troops inside them surrender.
The junta military continues to bomb Ramree town from land, sea and air, turning it into the most bombed town in Myanmar’s westernmost state, said the Arakan Army.
New Age
