Dhaka summons Myanmar envoy for fourth time over border tensions

Mortars fired from across the border led to the death of a Rohingya teenager and injured several others in Bangladesh

Dhaka has summoned Myanmar's ambassador for the fourth time in less than a month to lodge a protest against the heavy fighting along the border which caused casualties in Bangladesh recently.

Ambassador U Aung Kyaw Mo met with foreign ministry officials on Sunday, with Nazmul Huda, director general of the ministry's Southeast Asia Division, presenting Dhaka's position on the issue.

On Friday, a Rohin‌gya teenager died and several others were injured after mortar shells fired from Myanmar exploded in Bangladeshi territory amid the ongoing conflict between Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army, insurgents fighting for self-determination for ethnic minorities in Rakhine state.

A Bangladeshi man was also injured in a ‘mine’ explosion near the border in Bandarban's Ghumdhum.

The border strikes have put residents of Bandarban on edge. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan also warned that Bangladesh would take the issue up with the United Nations, if necessary, to stop the conflict from spilling across the border.

The foreign ministry also summoned Myanmar's ambassador to lodge protests on several occasions after mortar shells fired from across the border landed in Bandarban last month.

PROVOCATION?

Obaidul Quader, the ruling Awami League’s general secretary, said the government was checking whether the incidents of shelling by Myanmar were “acts of provocation”.

He noted the Myanmar ambassador had earlier described the incidents as stray mortal shells landing in Bangladesh and promised steps against the recurrence of shelling.

“As the same thing has happened again, the foreign ministry is checking the matter in the light of international laws and protocols,” said Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister.

“Bangladesh is an independent and sovereign state. The Sheikh Hasina government considers every inch of this country as its own existence.”

Quader said Bangladesh, however, wants all the issues settled peacefully and the foreign ministry was working on it.

Prime Minister Hasina talked about the issue on Saturday in London, where she was attending Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, he added.