Civil war in Myanmar: Bangladesh should beef up border security

February 7, 2024

DHAKA – Since the Three Brotherhood Alliance—comprising Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Arakan Army (AA), and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)—launched Operation 1027 on October 27, 2023, and took the fight to the despotic ruling military junta, Myanmar is being torn apart by the two unstoppable forces.

While the military is leaving no stones unturned to suppress the resistance fighters—including indiscriminate shelling of occupied civilian townships, cities and villages, resulting in collective punishment and killings of unarmed civilians—the Three Brotherhood Alliance is making short work of routing the junta, capturing strategic regions and towns, including Chin State’s Paletwa, northern Shan State and Rakhine State, bordering Bangladesh’s Chattogram division in the northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the west.

Bangladesh is already feeling the heat of escalating clashes in the bordering regions, with the sound of gunfights keeping the locals in bordering areas awake at nights. In the last five days, fighting between the Arakan Army and the military junta flared once again. As a result, mortal shells are falling inside the Bangladeshi territory and has caused at least two deaths and multiple injuries. Some 264 members of Myanmar’s border and security forces have entered the Bangladesh side illegally to escape fighting, according to Border Guard Bangladesh (as of 3:45 pm Tuesday). Some of them have bullet injuries.

Overall, with civil order rapidly deteriorating in Myanmar, things are not looking good for its three neighbours: China, India and Bangladesh.

The recent violent fighting in Rakhine has created panic among the Bangladeshi population living in the bordering