Amid a conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group in Myanmar’s Rakhine, 13 more members of the Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) took shelter in Bangladesh on Thursday night.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) public relations officer (PRO) Shariful Islam said on Friday that so far, a total of 274 BGP members have taken refuge in Bangladesh.

At first, the BGP members surrendered to the members of Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) in the Naf River near the southern tip of Bangladesh after intruding into Bangladesh territory, said a press release issued by BGB.

The BCG later handed over them to the BGB-11 battalion stationed in Naikhongchhari, the release said.

Earlier in February, 330 members of Myanmar security forces including BGP, army personnel and immigration officials had taken shelter in Bangladesh, reports UNB.

On February 15, they were handed over to Border Guard Police of Myanmar amid tight security.

Meanwhile, media reports in Bangladesh say a ship is scheduled to arrive from Myanmar either next Monday or Tuesday to retrieve members of the Border Guard Police (BGP) who sought refuge in Bangladesh. However, their departure depends on favorable weather conditions.

By: Navalsang Parmar (Dhaka)