Soon after 173 Bangladeshi nationals were repatriatedfrom Myanmar on 23 April, 285 junta soldiers, who fled to Bangladesh afterlosing the war inside Myanmar, have been sent back, said Bangla media outlets.

Among those 285 soldiers, 261 belonged to the borderguard battalion, and the rest were from other battalions and also immigrationofficers.

They were escorted by a group of guards and sent backto Myanmar via sea route on 25 April.

"They were first brought by buses fromNaikhongchhari to the BIWTA jetty in Cox's Bazar town by  4 am and thenhanded over to Myanmar authorities," said Shariful Islam, public relationsofficer of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

A Bangla navy ship brought them from the jetty andshifted to a Myanmar Navy ship, stationed in the Bay of Bengal.

Both border guards personnel coordinated the process.The Myanmar junta verified the list of personnel and also checked the relevantdocuments before the handover ceremony.

Those junta soldiers were defeated by the Arakha Army(AA) fighters in northern Maungdaw locality and subsequently they fled toBangla territory.

The Bangladesh embassy in Myanmar revealed about therepatriation of 173 Bangladeshi nationals from Sittwe prison in Rakhine Stateon Tuesday.

In early this year, 330 Myanmar soldiers and borderguards personnel fled to Bangladesh and were sent back on 15 February last.