Three Myanmar border police escape Arakan Army captivity, swim into Bangladesh

Three members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) who said they escaped from captivity under the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State swam across the Naf River into Bangladesh before being detained by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), officials said Monday.

The three men, including a police officer, were apprehended around noon near Naytong Para in Teknaf municipality after BGB personnel launched an intelligence-based operation along the border, officials said. They were later handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station for legal action on charges of illegal entry into Bangladesh.

During preliminary interrogation, the detainees told BGB they had been held at the headquarters of the No. 1 BGP Battalion in the Kawar Bil area of Maungdaw Township, which they said is under the control of the Arakan Army.

They said they escaped around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, walked nearly six kilometers through rugged terrain to the Naf River and swam for about two hours into Bangladesh using a five-liter plastic water container as a flotation device.

The detainees identified themselves as Police Second Lieutenant Hein Day Htet of Maungdaw Town Police Station, Police Lance Corporal Hein Zaw, and Police Lance Corporal Kyaw Naing of Buthidaung No. 3 BGP Battalion.

Teknaf Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Saiful Islam confirmed the arrests, saying the three would be produced before a Cox's Bazar court after completion of legal formalities.

The incident comes as fighting between the Arakan Army and Myanmar's military junta continues across northern Rakhine State, driving repeated cross-border movements of security personnel and civilians into Bangladesh.

Border officials said BGB has intensified patrols and surveillance along the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier amid the deteriorating security situation, where previous clashes have already forced thousands of refugees and security personnel to seek temporary shelter across the border.