Arakan News Agency
The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has arrested five Myanmar security personnel who fled the Khyen Chaung detention camp in northern Maungdaw, Arakan State, and entered Bangladesh seeking asylum, police confirmed on Sunday.
The arrests included four members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) and one Myanmar Army soldier. The operation took place at noon in Gachhbunia village, under Ward 9 of the Ghumdhum Union, near Border Post 42 in Naikhongchhari Upazila, Bandarban district.
BGB sources said the detainees had been held as prisoners of war by the Buddhist Arakan militias (Arakan Army) during recent clashes in Maungdaw before fleeing the camp and attempting to enter Bangladesh to seek refuge.
The arrested individuals are:
Ko Ko Sai (35) – Deputy Inspector, Shan State
U Soe Thura (38) – BGP member, Ayeyarwady Region
Aung San Htoo (25) – BGP member, Magway Region
Kyaw Zeya Lin (32) – BGP member, Yangon Region
Min Min Oo (41) – Myanmar Army soldier, Yangon Region
Masruul Haque, Officer-in-Charge of Naikhongchhari Police Station, said: “We have been informed of the arrest of one Myanmar soldier and four border guards. They have not been handed over to us yet; once they are, we will take the necessary legal action.”
Local residents told the Arakan News Agency that the detainees were found hiding about 1.5 kilometers inside Bangladesh territory, under the jurisdiction of Mongjoypara Border Post, before being apprehended by a BGB patrol and taken to a facility for further investigation.
Earlier, the BGB seized weapons and ammunition in the Naf River in Teknaf, near the border with Myanmar, including arms leftover from the ongoing conflict in Maungdaw, Arakan State, between the Myanmar Army and Arakan militias.
Previously, the BGB arrested five people attempting to smuggle cement into Arakan, foiled an attempt to smuggle a shipment of urea fertilizer into Arakan, arresting 11 individuals, and subsequently confiscated advanced military equipment suspected of being destined for the Arakan (separatist) Army, held by six people.
The Buddhist Arakan militias currently control large areas of Arakan State, particularly in the northern regions near the Bangladesh border. Their November 2023 military campaign against the Myanmar Army aimed to seize control of the state and involved violence, displacement, and forced recruitment affecting the Rohingya population on both sides.
