Bangladesh apprises diplomats of prevailing situation

The tense situation along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border has been made known to foreign diplomats by Dhaka in an effort to enlist their assistance in putting a stop to the violence that threatens to destabilize the entire region.

Admiral (Retd) Khurshed Alam, acting foreign secretary, made the call after the briefing at the state guesthouse Padma in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Diplomats have praised Bangladesh's stance of keeping peace while avoiding Myanmar's traps.

Admiral (Retd.) Khurshed Alam said, "We cautioned them that Myanmar should not be allowed to destabilize the entire region and create barriers for Rohingya repatriation."

According to him, the government has instructed foreign ambassadors to take steps to stop mortar rounds and bullets landing from the Myanmar side.

Foreign diplomats gave their word that they would notify their headquarters in order to bring up the matter at the UN.

Since early August, fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army has caused panic on the Bangladesh side of the border.

A Rohingya man was killed and five others were hurt last Friday when mortars fired from the Myanmar side struck the no-men's land.

Rear Admiral (Rtd) Md. Khorshed Alam, the acting foreign secretary, met the heads of missions from Southeast Asian nations earlier on Monday and informed them of the current situation at the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The briefing was attended by diplomats from other ASEAN nations, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. However, no diplomats from Myanmar were in attendance.

Md. Najmul Huda, director general of the South East Asia division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was also there.