Myanmar army amassed more troops on the zero line at Taimbru on Friday and commanded the stranded Rohingyas in the no-man’s land refugee camps to move away, claiming jurisdiction over the area.
Followed by continuous threats, curses and gunfire on Thursday night, the army once again told the stranded Rohingyas to move away, saying this was Burmese territory and the Rohingyas must move to Bangladesh. The stranded Rohingyas are residing west of the zero line which is legally out of the authority of the Myanmar government.
There are around 6,000 stranded Rohingyas in the no-man’s land area in Taimbru. More than 700,000 Rohingyas have been driven out in 2017 as military led forces embarked on a brutal crackdown killing more than ten thousand, including hundreds of children.
Tensions have been ongoing in the Taimbru zero line since early February following visit by a high level government delegation which ordered the Rohingyas to move away from the area. Since then, security forces have been firing blank shots randomly and making threatening announcements over loudspeakers.
The situation however deteriorated on Thursday as troops fired shots at the refugees and attempted to cross the fence by placing ladders. They were driven back as Rohingyas threw brickbats at them, and a large number of Bengali villagers amassed in the area.
Since Friday morning, more troops arrived in the area and assumed firing positions, leading to terror among the stranded Rohingyas who had come back to the camps in the early dawn hours after taking shelter on the Bangladeshi side the previous night. The security forces had placed tents on the zero line in the night, giving the impression they had come to stay for the long term.
Soldiers left their positions and entered the tents for a short time, but once again assumed aggressive positions at around 2.45 pm, minutes before a scheduled flag meeting with Bangladeshi border authorities. They scaled down their presence at around 4.30 pm but once again returned after dark.
The Bangladesh government had earlier handed over a strong protest note to the Myanmar envoy on Thursday, citing unusual presence of troops, including the military on the zero line. Myanmar forces had however continued to maneuver aggressively on the border alleging the presence of militant outfit ARSA in the region.
Our sources however say there is no ARSA presence in the camps, as the group had lost much of its earlier popularity.
A tense atmosphere currently prevails in the area and most of the Rohingyas are avoiding the zero line and staying close to the Bangladeshi side after nightfall, fearing an attack by the security forces.
