Bangladesh News

Bangladesh border guards stay alert on Myanmar-Bangladesh borders following the neighbouring country’s move to erect barbed-wire fences on its side of 200-kilometre land borders with Bangladesh.

“We are aware of the matter. Everything remains normal,” Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Director General Brig Gen Moinul Islam told The Daily Star yesterday.

He ruled out the rumour that no senior BDR official is on the borders and said there was nothing to panic for the people living on Bangladesh side.

Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain told The Daily Star on Monday that Bangladesh has no problem if Myanmar erects fences on its territory.

Our Bandarban correspondent reports: People living in the bordering areas got panicked following deployment of huge number of Myanmar troops along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

Of the 200-kilometre border between the two countries, 173 km is along Bandarban. There are 11 border outposts in Naikkhangchhari upazila and eight in Thanchi upazila.

Earlier, initiatives were taken to increase the number of BOPs on Bangladesh side but it was not materialised.

When contacted, acting Bandarban Deputy Commissioner Satyajit Karmakar said the situation in bordering areas remain completely normal.

Dochhari Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Habibullah Khan told The Daily Star over telephone that although the BDR members have been put on alert, no high official of the paramilitary force was there since the February 25-26 mutiny at the BDR headquarters.

Dipak Barua, UP chairman of Ghumdhum Ghat, close to the Myanmar border, said they failed to find any BDR official to enquire about the border situation.

He said assistant police super of Lama Circle in Bandarban sometimes comes there to supervise the BDR men.