Fierce fighting in Myanmar, many soldiers flee to Bangladesh

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said its doctors in Cox's Bazar (a Bangladeshi border town) had "received a large number of patients following fighting on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border".

A Rohingya child at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, in 2021.

AFP quoted MSF as saying that 17 patients had been taken to Kutupalong Hospital for treatment. MSF did not provide further details about the victims' nationalities or injuries.

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said at least 14 border guards from neighbouring Myanmar's restive Rakhine state "entered our territory to defend ourselves" against attacks by Arakan Army (AA) rebels.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's private television station Channel 24 reported that at least 66 officers had sought shelter, including 10 wounded by gunfire.

"The Arakan Army has captured parts of Rakhine state one by one. According to our information, they are advancing," Minister Khan told reporters in Dhaka.

Areas of Myanmar near the 270-km border with Bangladesh, as well as the border with India in the north, have seen regular clashes since November 2023, when AA members ended a ceasefire that had held since the 2021 coup in Myanmar.

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In October 2023, a coalition of AA rebels and other ethnic minority fighters launched a joint offensive across northern Myanmar, seizing key trading hubs on the border with China.

Last month, the coalition announced a ceasefire brokered by China, but it did not apply to areas near the Bangladesh-India border, where fighting continues.

As the fighting nears, many Bangladeshis are worried and fearful. Some border residents say relatives have been hit by stray bullets from Myanmar, while teachers say students have stayed home from school for fear of their safety.

Khan said Bangladesh has stepped up security along the border and will contact Myanmar to return the officers who fled to its territory. Bangladesh is currently home to about 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

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