In one of the largest single-day flights of Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh in recent times, over 8,000 hapless members of the minority community took refuge in the neigbouring country on September 2 even as the authorities in Dhaka fear more refugee exodus in the days and weeks to come.
Diplomats of at least two European Union countries, who recently visited the Teknaf region in Bangladesh, have reported the border crossing of more than 8,000 Rohingya people, including women and children, who came under relentless attacks by Arakan Army forces in Maungdaw and Buthidaung over the past ten days or so.
While over 1 million stateless Rohingya refugees live in camps (at Kutupalong and Nayapara) in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, many thousands live in India, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Even Indian security agencies have taken note of this recent Rohingya flight from the Rakhine State in civil war-torn Myanmar. Ground reports from the Rakhine State, where the Chinese have considerable business investments, indicate that rebel Arakan Army troops were close to recapturing Paletwa, a strategic river port town in Myanmar’s Chin State.
The EU diplomats also reported that the situation along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border was explosive as at least 150,000 Rohingya “await crossing the international boundary” even as the conflict in the Rakhine State grows fierce with the China-backed Arakan Army redoubling efforts in recent times to take control of the province.
Paletwa fell to the Arakan Army in January this year but was subsequently wrested from the rebels by Myanmar military junta (under the Western Command) soldiers. This time, the Arakan Army launched a full, frontal attack on Paletwa as part of their military objective to assume full control over the Rakhine State.
Paletwa is located on the Kaladan river and is about 18 kms from the India-Myanmar border. Before the Arakan Army launched its January 2024 attack on Paletwa, Myanmar junta troops had built several strongholds on the hills along the road between Paletwa and Mizoram in India. This road was vital from India’s perspective considering it was part of the Kaladan River Multi-Modal Transit Project.
Myanmar military junta troops briefly took control of Paletwa in November 2023 before the Arakan Army launched its attack on the town the same month. The town fell to the Arakan Army in January 2024. In May this year, the junta troops recaptured parts of the town after launching air strikes on Tarunaing village and other areas. This was preceded by attacks by the junta army in other parts of Chin State.
Senior Bangladeshi diplomats familiar with the evolving refugee situation in the Teknaf area close to the Bangladesh-Myanmar border said that a “war-like situation prevails in the region and may burst into a full-scale war in this part of the Rakhine State. This could lead to the capitulation of the junta forces and an assault on the Rohingya people by the Arakan Army”.
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The security situation on the border in general and Bangladeshi territory there could take a turn for the worse in the event conditions worsen for the Rohingya waiting to cross over to Bangladesh, the sources said, adding that European aid agencies continue to work in the Teknaf area.
Diplomats belonging to European Union countries will likely visit the area again on September 13 to take stock of the security and refugee situation.
