Bangladesh repatriates Myanmar troops after fighting on border

Bangladesh sends back nearly 300 Myanmar troops and civil servants fleeing conflict near the border

Bangladesh sent home nearly 300 Myanmar troops and civil servants on Thursday who fled across the border to escape attacks on their outposts near the frontier between the two countries.

Myanmar has been roiled in conflict since the military seized power from a democratically elected government in a 2021 coup.

Violent clashes between soldiers of the Arakan Army, an armed group belonging to an ethnic minority, and junta forces since late last year saw hundreds of fleeing troops cross into Bangladesh.

Government officials told AFP that a Myanmar-flagged ship carrying soldiers, police and civil servants departed from the river port of Naniarchar on Thursday.

"All 288 troops, which mostly include Myanmar's Border Guard Police and some army soldiers and immigration officials, left Naniarchar at around 6 am," a senior government official said.

Two other government officials confirmed the departures. All three spoke on condition of anonymity, citing security reasons.

Bangladesh has stepped up security along its border with Myanmar, fearing that the conflict there could trigger another major influx of Rohingya Muslim refugees caught in the fighting.