285 Myanmar soldiers sent back from Bangladesh, 173 Bangladeshi nationals repatriated

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

Among those 285 soldiers, 261 belonged to the border guard battalion, and the rest were from other battalions and also immigration officers.

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

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

A Bangla navy ship brought them from the jetty and shifted 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 relevant documents before the handover ceremony.

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

The Bangladesh embassy in Myanmar revealed about the repatriation of 173 Bangladeshi nationals from Sittwe prison in Rakhine State on Tuesday.

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