85 Bangladeshis returning on Sunday; 120 BGP and army personnel to return to Myanmar

85 Bangladeshi nationals will return home from Myanmar after serving prison terms tomorrow (29 September).

In exchange, 120 members of the Border Guard Police (BGP) and army personnel who fled to Bangladesh will be returned to Myanmar.

Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md Salahuddin stated that the Bangladeshi nationals departed from Sittwe Port in Rakhine today (28 Sep), and the group is expected to arrive at the Nuniyarchara jetty in Cox's Bazar early Sunday morning.

The Deputy Commissioner also said that the repatriation process will proceed similarly to the previous three phases. 

After handing over the returning Bangladeshis, the Myanmar delegation will depart with 120 BGP and army personnel by noon. 

Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Md Rahat Bin Qutub, will be present during the entire process.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar has confirmed that the Myanmar Navy ship 'UMS Chin Dwin' set sail for Cox's Bazar with 85 Bangladeshis on Saturday.

Among the returning Bangladeshi nationals, 26 were held in Moulmein prison, 16 in Pathein prison, 3 in Chaungtha prison, and the rest in various prisons across Rakhine state.

The returnees are from the districts of Cox's Bazar, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachari, Noakhali, and Dhaka.

Over the past 15 months, the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar has played an active role in repatriating a total of 332 Bangladeshi nationals.

Previously on 9 June, 45 Bangladeshis returned after serving their prison sentences. On the same day, 134 BGP and army personnel returned to Myanmar. 

On 25 April, 173 Bangladeshis returned after completing their sentences in Myanmar, and on that day, Bangladesh also repatriated 288 BGP and army personnel who had sought refuge in the country. 

Prior to this, on 15 February, Bangladesh returned 330 Myanmar BGP, army, and customs officials who had sought refuge in Bangladesh.