30,000 Rohingyas waiting to enter through brokers

8000 already entered on Sept 2

Staff Correspondent: Local people’s representatives claimed that the brokers of the two countries are helping Rohingyas fleeing from Myanmar to enter Bangladesh. They say that there are more than two hundred brokers on both sides of the Ukhia-Teknaf border. Rohingyas are entering Bangladesh through them.
It is known that the Rohingyas first walked from Rakhine to the other side of the Naf River. Brokers sit there with boats. There is also a broker at the Ukhia-Teknaf border of Cox’s Bazar. At night, they take money and bring the Rohingyas into Bangladesh.
The local representatives of Ukhia-Teknaf said that the Rohingyas are crossing the Naf river with boats from the villages of Sudapara, Faizipara, Sikdarpara and Nurulla Para of Mongdu Township and entering Bangladesh in the dark of night. On the border of the Naf River, members of some broker gangs are again bringing the Rohingyas to the country through Shah Pari Dwip, Gholar Char, Jalia Para, Sabrang, Naya Para, Jadimura of Teknaf, Nightongpara, Baraitli, Keruntali and Baharchhara Union’s sea coast.
Chairman of Ukhia Panglakhali Union Parishad MA Gafur Chowdhury said that after the fall of the government on August 5, Rohingyas are infiltrating every day when the law and order forces are not in the field. Basically, some brokers at the border are helping to enter Bangladesh in exchange of Tk 20,000 to Tk 30,000 per person. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have infiltrated through the Ukhia border in the past week. More than 30,000 Rohingyas are waiting to enter Bangladesh at the UkhiaPalangkhali border.
Nur Hossain, chairman of Teknaf Sabarang Union Parishad, said that Rohingyas stay close to the border during the day. They entered Bangladesh through brokers at night. More and more Rohingyas infiltrate every day.
Nazeer Ahmad, a member of Ward No. 9 of Teknaf Sadar Union, said that more than 8,000 Rohingyas infiltrated through Teknaf border in one week. With the help of the local people, I have detained more than a hundred Rohingyas and handed them over to the BGB while infiltrating through the Kerantali border.
In this regard, Additional Commissioner of Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) office Mohammad Samchu-Ddouza said, we have received information about Rohingya infiltration through several points in Ukhia-Teknaf. However, there are no exact statistics of how many people have entered so far.
Teknaf upazila executive officer Adnan Chowdhury said, “We have received information about some Rohingya infiltration through Teknaf border in the last few days. BGB and Coast Guard have been asked to be alert.
8000 Rohingya crossed border
European diplomats claim over 8,000 Rohingya crossed over to Bangladesh on September 2.
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.