Diplomatic Correspondent :
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday summoned the Myanmar Ambassador to Dhaka Aung K Moe and lodged a strong protest over firing mortar shells in Bangladesh’s territory.
Foreign ministry officials said the envoy was called hours after two shells fell at Ghumdhum border on Sunday afternoon. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said the shells did not detonate and they later diffused the unexploded shells.
The Foreign Ministry has warned the country for not repeating such incidents in future as it violates the sovereignty of a country.
However, this is not the first instance that Myanmar has violated the international border rules.
Earlier in September 2017, just after the Rohingya exodus in August, Myanmar military drones and helicopter violated the airspace for three times on September 10, 12 and 14.
At that time Bangladesh also strongly protested the instances of violation of airspace by serving the protest note to its envoy in Dhaka Aung Myint. In order to protest the shells landing, the Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Myanmar’s Ambassador in Dhaka U Aung Kyaw Moe.
“We have served a strong protest through a note verbale so that such incidents do not take place again. We have also strongly condemned such incident,” Foreign Secretary Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told the journalists.
On Sunday, two unexploded mortar shells were found near Ghumdhum’s Tumbru border in Bandarban’s Naikkhyangchhari area.
Police said the shells fell close to a mosque half a kilometre from the border while BGB has been looking into the matter.
It is believed that the shells were fired during a confrontation between the Myanmar Border Police and a rebel group.
However, the shells caused no damage or casualties in the area, but it spread panic among local residents who have been hearing booming sounds for two weeks from the other side of the Myanmar border.
Earlier on Sunday, the Foreign Secretary said that Dhaka would launch an investigation to determine whether the shells were fired into Bangladesh accidentally or not.
When Bangladesh is struggling to start the process of repatriation of around 12 lakh Rohingyas to their homeland in Rakhine State, Myanmar junta government is not showing its proactive role to settle the issue.
Rather Myanmar is violating the international rules of sovereignty through the violation of airspace and firing shells inside Bangladesh territory.
Myanmar government is not responding to the calls of Bangladesh and international community including ASEAN countries has been asked to address Rohingya crisis.
Soon after the exodus, Bangladesh proposed to Myanmar to build ‘safe zones’ for Rohingyas but the junta government rejected it.
On August 25, 2017, the Myanmar Army launched an operation in Rakhine State through indiscriminate killings and arson, forcing more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh.
Though five years of the Rohingya exodus have elapsed, the junta government did not receive a single Rohingya back rather they are delaying the process in the name of verifying the lists of the Rohingyas.
