At least 288 Myanmar army and border force members who had crossed the international border and sought shelter in Bangladesh amid fighting in the Rakhine state were repatriated on Thursday morning, Bangladeshi officials said.
A tugboat in the morning carried them from Cox鈥檚 Bazar to a waiting Myanmar naval ship sent to carry them back home.
Soldiers among the repatriating group were not allowed to take with them any weapons or ammunition during the repatriation.
They were seen wearing traditional lungi and T-shirts and carrying small bags as they were taken to the heavily guarded tugboat waiting for transporting them to the Myanmar ship, which was anchored on the two countries鈥� maritime boundary.
Cox鈥檚 Bazar district police superintendent Md Mahfuzul Islam said that the repatriation of the group was carried out successfully.
Bangladeshi officials said on Wednesday that the Myanmar naval vessel UMS Chindwin would transport the personnel among whom were soldiers, members of the Border Guard Police, and immigration officials, who had fled to Bangladesh amid clashes with the ethnic Arakan Army.
In a press release on Thursday afternoon, the Bangladesh foreign ministry said that the 288 men entered Bangladesh separately and in different times since March 11, crossing River Naf and land border.聽 They were kept in a school facility under the custody of the Border Guard Bangladesh, the release added.
Aung Kyaw Moe, Myanmar ambassador to Bangladesh, was in Cox鈥檚 Bazar to supervise formalities on behalf of his country, Bangladeshi officials said.
Bangladesh has no extradition or mutual legal assistance treaty with Myanmar.
Bangladeshi authorities said that details were collected on all the personnel before repatriation.
In February, 330 members of Myanmar鈥檚 security forces, including BGP officers, army personnel and immigration officials, took shelter in Bangladesh as violent conflicts with the Arakan Army raged the Rakhine state.
Bangkok-based rights group Fortify Rights called on Bangladesh to investigate all the repatriated personnel for possible involvement in atrocities in Myanmar and to coordinate with the International Criminal Court鈥檚 ongoing investigation into crimes against the Rohingya.
All the 330 personnel were repatriated on a naval vessel sent by Myanmar on February 15.
On Wednesday, a day before it picked up the Myanmar men, the UMS Chindwin transported to Cox鈥檚 Bazar 173 Bangladeshis, mostly released prisoners, deported by the Myanmar junta.
