Bangladesh does not want a war with Myanmar and would rather resolve any ongoing issues through peaceful and diplomatic means, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said.
The Bangladesh government will inform the United Nations if Myanmar does not end its firing near the Bangladesh border, he added.
The minister was speaking at an event at the Dhaka Ahsania Mission’s Dhaka office in Dhanmondi on Saturday.
Bangladesh has repeatedly warned Myanmar about the border violations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but it did not heed the warnings, according to the minister.
However, Bangladesh would continue to do its part to warn Myanmar on the issue.
"Conflicts in their country (Myanmar) should remain within their borders. I hope Myanmar will be careful next time,” the home minister said.
On Friday, at least one person died and six others, including a Rohingya child, were critically injured in shooting and mortar shelling from across the Myanmar border in Gumdhum of Bandarban.
The mortar shells landed in no man’s land, injuring three Rohingya people, in the evening. One of them, Md Iqbal, 17, later succumbed to his injuries, Deputy Commissioner Yasmin Parvin Tibrizi said.
Locals said that bullets landed in a thicket beside the house of one Shah Alam in Konarpara, creating panic.
Earlier in the day, a 22-year-old Bangladeshi youth named Athwaing Tangchangya lost his legs in a landmine explosion along the Headmanpara border area at Tumbru under Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban.
The incident took place at around 3:15pm on Friday near pillar No 35 of the Myanmar border.
Tangchangya was first admitted to Kutupalong MSF Hospital and then to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, before being shifted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for better treatment.
Tangchangya’s mother, Yang Me Chakma, said the mine went off when he crossed the border to bring his cattle back from Myanmar.
On September 3, Myanmar helicopters intruded to within 300 to 400 yards of Bangladeshi airspace at Naikhongchhari point several times. Shells and gunshots were fired from warplanes and helicopters, local people reported.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already summoned the Myanmar envoy to Dhaka thrice over the border violations.
Bangladesh on alert to prevent new entries
Border Guard Bangladesh has stepped up patrols and surveillance near the border following the recent shelling.
The BGB and the Coast Guard are on the alert to prevent Rohingyas from crossing into Bangladesh amid escalating tensions at the border with Myanmar, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Saturday.
Rohingyas trying to enter Bangladesh through the border were being sent back to Myanmar, he added.
“There was a Rohingya family on the zero line yesterday (Friday)... We also saw that mortar firing [from Myanmar] killed one person and injured several others,” Asaduzzaman Khan told the media.
The minister also called for a de-escalation of violence near the border.
The escalating tensions on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border for over a month now are fuelling Rohingya infiltration into Bangladesh territory.
Since September 10, at least 10-15 Rohingyas have taken shelter in Kutupalong and Balukhali shelter camps in Cox’s Bazar, local sources confirmed.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneRepatriation talks, ICJ case status
Bangladesh has been under tremendous pressure due to sheltering the massive Rohingya population taking refuge in Cox’s Bazar since August 25, 2017. Over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees are now living in cramped camps at Cox’s Bazar and on Bhashan Char Island.
Bangladesh has held several talks with major global actors over the safe repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland, but the international community has so far failed to mount sufficient pressure on Myanmar to take back its citizens.
On November 11, 2019, Gambia filed a genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ICJ on January 23, 2020, issued provisional measures against Myanmar to prevent any genocidal acts in its territory against the Rohingyas and to protect them. On July 22 this year, the ICJ rejected Myanmar’s preliminary objections to the case brought by Gambia under the international Genocide Convention.