DHAKA — Thirteen Myanmar junta border guards swam across the River Naf to Bangladesh on Wednesday from the Rakhine State border town of Maungdaw as the Arakan Army advances.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed of the Border Guard Bangladesh in Teknaf told The Irrawaddy that they were in custody.
One had a pistol and 25 rounds, he said, adding that 123 Border Guard Police were now in custody.
The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said attempts to repatriate the junta personnel were delayed by Bangladesh’s political crisis.
A ministry official said the authorities were trying to send the junta personnel back before more arrived with the ministry hoping to return them in late August.
Junta personnel began crossing the border at Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar in early February.
As many as 752 personnel, mostly BGP, and their family members have been returned in three phases on February 15, April 25 and June 9, according to the Bangladeshi media.
A Teknaf resident, Abdus Salam, said boats carrying Rohingya crossed the Naf last week and the Bangladeshi authorities found over 44 bodies along the coast.
