US closely monitoring ongoing tension in Myanmar: US embassy

The United States is closely monitoring the ongoing tension between the Myanmar military and rebels in Rakhine state, US Embassy Spokesperson Stephen Ibelli said today (5 February).

"We are closely monitoring the situation as it concerns the entire region," he told the journalists in response to a question after an event in a city hotel this afternoon.

Rebel factions in Rakhine state have engaged in clashes with Myanmar's military junta since Saturday (3 February), primarily over the control of a border camp. The ongoing conflict has been marked by persistent gunfire, mortar shells, and rocket explosions. 

Officials have reported intense fighting, and there are concerns about the use of army helicopters strafing rebel fighters, heightening worries of substantial casualties.

International media reports suggested several more insurgent groups, some forming alliances among them, are confronting the government army in several parts of Myanmar.

Amidst the conflict, at least 106 Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) personnel have entered Bangladesh till Monday (5 February) evening and sought refuge. 

These people have been taken to safety after the weapons they carried with them were deposited in the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) cache, BGB headquarters Public Relations Officer Md Shariful Islam confirmed in a press release.

Many of them fled the conflict zone with injuries and now are being treated at different hospitals in Cox's Bazar District.

Meanwhile, two people were killed this afternoon after heavy mortar shells reportedly fired from Myanmar landed and exploded inside Bangladesh on the Ghumdum border in Bandarban.

Bangladesh's border with Myanmar stretches 271.0 kilometers (168.4 miles), from the tri-point with India in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south.