Myanmar's fled security personnel cleared to repatriate on Apr 22: FM

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud today said that Dhaka had given clearance to Myanmar authority to return their security personnel who took shelter in Bangladesh on April 22.

"We gave our clearance for April 22. We are not sure whether they could take back their citizens on that day ... It would depend on the weather condition and their internal situation," he told reporters after an event at the foreign ministry this afternoon.  

The foreign minister said it has been decided that the fled Myanmar security personnel will go back by ship to be sent by the Myanmar authority.  

Till today, Hasan said 285 Myanmar's border guards and army personnel have fled to Bangladesh amid the ongoing conflict inside Myanmar between the ruling authority and different armed groups.

Rebel factions in Arakan state have engaged in clashes with Myanmar's military junta since February last primarily over the control of a border camp.

Persistent gunfire, mortar shells, and rocket explosions have marked the ongoing conflict.

Bangladesh played a critical role in sheltering over a million Rohingyas who fled their home in Rakhine and took refuge in Bangladesh to evade persecution, particularly after a 2017 army crackdown but the current crisis visibly has little to do with the Rohingyas.

Earlier, the foreign minister unveiled covers of books - Bangabandhu's "Unfinished Autobiography" and "Prison Diary" translated into Asomiya language, "Zero Hour" written by poet and researcher of Assam Rita Chowdhury based on Bangladesh Liberation War and "Bhuban Jora Sheikh Hasina's Asankhani" written by Ekushey Padak winner journalist Zafar Wazed.