DHAKA — Bangladesh’s government says it will allow Myanmar’s junta to airlift 327 troops and staff who crossed the border to escape Arakan Army (AA) attacks.
Dhaka said the authorities were repatriating them without delay and were in contact with Naypyidaw.
On Wednesday, 63 more troops entered Bangladesh through the Whykong border in Teknaf near Cox’s Bazar, bringing the total of soldiers, border guards, police and immigration officers in Bangladesh to 327.
A Bangladesh government representative told The Irrawaddy that Myanmar’s Embassy in Dhaka requested the personnel be shipped on a Bangladeshi ferry to Maungdaw Township in Rakhine State. Dhaka rejected the proposal because of security concerns and said the regime could fly the soldiers back to Naypyitaw.
The Border Guard Bangladesh chief Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui told the media on Wednesday that it was an internal matter for the junta whether the troops would face trial on their return.
On Tuesday the Arakan Army claimed to have seized junta battalion headquarters in Mrauk U and Kyauktaw townships, Rakhine State.
Retired Major General Shahidul Haque, a former defense attache in the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar, told The Irrawaddy that the troops were not prisoners of war and Myanmar’s Embassy should arrange their repatriation.
Haque said Bangladesh could engage a third party like the International Committee of the Red Cross to maintain neutrality in the process.
“It’s not wise to ferry them by waterway with Bangladeshi taxpayers’ money,” the former general said, adding that it would be seen as taking the junta’s side against the AA.
“Bangladesh should not be party to the conflict or annoy the Arakan Army, considering the future of Rohingya repatriations,” Haque said.
The Red Cross in Dhaka told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that it could be a neutral actor in the repatriations if approached.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud is in New Delhi on a three-day visit, where Myanmar and Rohingya repatriations would be discussed, according to the Dhaka-based daily New Age.
India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval visited Dhaka over the weekend to meet Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Security issues, including the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, were discussed, according to the Times of India.
