Ensure national security

In less than a month, Bangladesh's foreign ministry summoned Myanmar's envoy for the fourth time to warn the neighbouring country over the repeated firing of mortar shells inside Bangladesh. A Rohingya youth was killed recently and six others, including a Bangladeshi national, were wounded in Myanmar army's shelling in the south-eastern border district of Bandarban. Many people living in the border area are now in fear as gunshots and heavy firing are frequently heard from the Myanmar side. Many families in villages close to the border are moving elsewhere for security reasons. It is a direct violation of international law. Myanmar should apologise to Bangladesh officially for this.

Bangladesh is currently hosting more than 1.2 million persecuted Rohingya who fled a brutal military clampdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017. We have already been facing problems for the Rohingya since many of them are now involved in criminal activities and drug smuggling. The current mortar shelling could be a new strategy of Myanmar to prevent the return of the Rohingya to their country. However, the government of Bangladesh should take all measures so that Myanmar does not repeat anything like this in our border areas as well as ensure our national security.

SM Robin Ahmed,

Jagannath University, Dhaka

robinrazin55@gmail.com