BGB officials inspect a boat carrying Rohingya people who fled the sectarian violence in Myanmar and crossed the Naf River into Teknaf on June 11.
In the backdrop of fresh ethnic violence in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine, Rohingyas have been trying anew to intrude into Bangladesh, reports BBC Bangla Service.
Quoting local sources, the BBC Bangla Service reported on Friday that nearly 3,000 Rohingya refugees boarding on around 50 boats have been waiting on sea to cross the bordering Naff river from Myanmar.
Local administrator said they ordered the law enforcers to beef up vigilance and resist intrusion.
Meanwhile, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) sources said they had been pushed back 52 Rohingya refugees during the last two days.
This is the second time in 2012 that a sectarian violence broke out in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, forcing the Rohingyas to flee the country.
At least 64 people were killed this week, officials said, in the first serious outburst of violence since June, when a state of emergency was declared in Rakhine.
The ethnic violence had broken out in the same state of Myanmar for the first time in June this year.
Shafique Mia, chairman of Teknaf upazila, said he has news that several boats with on board have been waiting on the sea.
“We have news that 50 to 60 boats are floating on the sea. If each boat carries 50 people, then there are 3,000 Rohingyas on those boats,” he said.
Lt Col Zahid Hasan, a BGB official of Cox’s Bazar, said they also have news that boats carrying Rohingyas were waiting on sea to intrude into Bangladesh.
He said the fishermen informed them that the Rohingyas were fleeing their home on boats as the violence-prone areas are island.
Mohammad Ruhul Amin, district administrator of Cox’s Bazar, said they had a meeting with officials concerned in the awake of the situation and decided to resist any kind of intrusion on the frontier.
The Bangladesh government earlier had decided not to allow any refugee from Myanmar and directed the administration and law enforcement agencies to beef up vigilance and resist intrusion.
The BGB officials said they would not allow any Rohingyas.
After the government stance to resist Rohingya in June, international community on many occasion urged Dhaka to allow them.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urged the Bangladesh government in June to allow the people seeking refuge in the country from sectarian clashes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.
“Bangladesh is a densely populated country and the Rohingyas have impacts on our society, law and order, and environment. Considering all aspects, it will create serious problems for us,” said Dipu Moni, the foreign minister.
She also added, “We are not interested in more people coming to Bangladesh.”
As many as 250,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar entered Bangladesh in 1991 following persecution. Later, most of them returned, but those registered by the UNHCR now reside in two camps -- Kutupalong and Nayapara -- in Cox's Bazar.
In 2009, police investigations found link of Rohingyas with some militant groups in Bangladesh.
Over the years, many of the Rohingyas living here managed to obtain Bangladeshi passport with support from local authorities and went abroad.
What sparked the violence in June?
The rape and murder of a young Buddhist woman in Rakhine in May set off a chain of deadly religious clashes.
Why was a state of emergency declared?
A state of emergency allows the introduction of martial law, which means the military can take over administrative control of the region reports BBC.
Who are the Rohingyas?
The United Nations describes Rohingya as a persecuted religious and linguistic minority from western Myanmar.
The Myanmarese government, on the other hand, says they are relatively recent migrants from the Indian sub-continent.
Neighbouring Bangladesh already hosts several hundred thousand refugees from Myanmar and says it cannot take any more.
The government has declared a curfew in the affected areas, but its response since the violence first broke out in June is being widely criticised as inadequate, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.
On Friday six towns were hit by clashes and a night-time curfew is in place in several locations including Min Bya and Mrauk Oo where the latest spate of violence began.
It is unclear what prompted the latest clashes. The Rakhine Buddhists and Muslims, believed to be mainly Rohingya, blame each other for the violence.
Muslims throughout Myanmar have abandoned plans to celebrate the festival of Eid al-Azha because of the violence.
There is long-standing tension between the ethnic Rakhine people, who make up the majority of the state's population, and Muslims, many of whom are Rohingya and are stateless.
The Myanmarese authorities regard the Rohingya as illegal immigrants and correspondents say there is widespread public hostility to them.
In August, Myanmar set up a commission to investigate the violence between Buddhists and Muslims in the west of the country.
Authorities earlier rejected an UN-led inquiry.
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