Over 500 Rohingya refugees crossed into Bangladesh in a single day, adding to the two hundred who had already arrived via the Cox's Bazar border on Friday. In just two weeks, around 8,000 Rohingyas have made the perilous journey across the Ukhia and Teknaf border.

 On Saturday, September 7, the Rohingyas used various crossing points along the Naf River to enter Bangladesh. Local residents and officials confirmed that many arrived in the dead of night, coming from villages in Myanmar’s Mangdu Township, which lies just across the four-kilometer-wide Naf River. The refugees traveled by boat from villages like Sudapara, Faizipara, Sikdarpara, and Nurullapara, arriving at border points such as Jadimora, Damdamia, and Shahpari Dwip.

Highlights:

500 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh in a single day.

8,000 Rohingya have crossed the border in the past two weeks.

Over 750,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh during the 2017 crisis.

Total Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: 1.15 million

Adnan Chowdhury, the Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), stated that authorities have stepped up patrols along the river and border in an effort to curb further influxes. While some Rohingyas are being turned back to Myanmar mid-crossing, others have already entered refugee camps.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Main Uddin, in charge of security at the Teknaf refugee camp, confirmed that some new arrivals have been admitted but are being carefully monitored. Strict security measures are in place to prevent additional entrants.

This latest wave of refugees comes six years after a mass exodus began in August 2017, when the Myanmar military’s campaign of violence and genocide forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas to flee. By early 2018, over 750,000 Rohingyas had taken refuge in Cox’s Bazar, adding to the 400,000 who were already living in camps there.

Although Myanmar’s government initially agreed under international pressure to repatriate the Rohingyas, attempts to return them in 2019 collapsed as the refugees remained distrustful of Myanmar's promises, leaving the crisis unresolved.