BGB sends back 11 boats with 130 Rohingyas

Muslim Rohingyas, who have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state amid persecution of military and illegally entered Bangladesh through different border points including the Naf River, are building makeshift houses in the hill forest areas of Teknaf' Ukhiya Kutubpal and Bandarban.
Most of them say they want to return to their homeland, but fear for their lives. Myanmar stripped them of citizenship in 1982.
Border guards Bangladesh personnel have intercepted 11 boats carrying 130 Rohingyas trying to cross the border through different points at Ukhia, Teknaf and Bandarban.
BGB patrol teams spotted the boats at zero points in Ukhia's Balukhali and Thaingkali, the Naf River in Cox's Bazar and Bandarban's Ghumdhum border early Thursday.
Cox's Bazar-based BGB 34 Battalion chief Lt Col Imran Ullah Sarkar said 19 Rohingyas were pushed back from Ukhiya and Ghumdhum.
Eleven boats were sent back to Myanmar from different points of the Naf River, said Teknaf-based BGB 2 Battalion's Maj Abu Russel Siddiqui. There were 11 boats in total, each carrying 10 to 12 refugees, he said.
Myanmar army started a crackdown against the minority Rohingyas in Rakhine state after nine police officers were killed in three police outposts along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border on October 9.
Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims are trying to cross the border into Bangladesh amid the escalating violence.
The BGB claims that a total 80 boats carrying Rohingyas have been sent back to Myanmar since November 1.
However, different local and international media have reported that a large number of Rohingya refugees, including women and children, have entered Bangladesh via different routes.
The UNHCR says 32,894 Rohingyas live in two camps-Nayapara and Kutupalong-in Cox's Bazar.
Teknaf and Ukhiya forest officials estimate that between 5,300 and 16,000 acres of forest land had been destroyed until 2015. They claim the Rohingyas are occupying more and more areas.