DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Thursday repatriated 330 Myanmar nationals who had sought refuge in the country amid border clashes between rebel factions and Myanmar's military.

They included 302 Border Guard Police personnel, four of their family members, two army personnel, 18 immigration officials and four civilians.

The repatriation began with 165 people departing Inani jetty on the Bangladeshi ship Karnafuli at midday. The rest followed in the afternoon after the Karnafuli returned and made a second trip, said an official from the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB).

Unlike the broader Rohingya crisis stemming from a 2017 crackdown, the current situation involves the return of Myanmar nationals involved in recent border conflicts.

“The repatriation process went smoothly,” Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), told Anadolu.

“We are glad that the Myanmar nationals are safely back in their homeland,” he added.

Earlier in the morning, a delegation from the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) led by Police Lieut. Col. Myo Thura Naung reached Bangladesh to oversee the return of their citizens. A Myanmar Navy ship stood ready at the international maritime boundary to transport the group back home.

The repatriation process was overseen by senior officials from both countries, including the BGB’s director general and Myanmar’s ambassador to Bangladesh, with security measures in place.

Amid ongoing clashes between rebel factions and Myanmar's military in Rakhine state, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan confirmed on Tuesday that Myanmar had agreed to repatriate their security force members who had crossed the border.

The border region continues to experience heavy fighting, with reports of gunfire, shelling and concerns over escalating casualties.