“They were arrested from different areas of Teknaf and Gudum by BGB Battalion 42 and 17 teams after a joint operation on Monday.”

BGB also recently arrested 24 Rohingyas trying to enter Bangladesh from Arakan state from Gumdum, in Bandarban District, according to official sources that said they were forced to return to Burma.

Other arrests took place at Teknaf border after BGB Battalion 42 intercepted 6 Rohingyas that were trying to penetrate Bangladesh the Naff River route, according to a BGB source.

Rohingya Muslims frequently cross the Burma-Bangladesh border seeking refuge in Bangladesh to escape persecution in Arakan state, Burma.

Life has become even more difficult for Rohingya and other Muslim groups since the June and October sectarian violence that broke out last year. As a result more are trying to flee into Bangladesh causing the BGB to close the border to the refuge seekers and step up patrols.

In Arakan state, authorities and extremist Rakhines have been accused of conducting ethnic cleansing by Human Rights Watch. Thousands of Rohingyas are now suffering from malnutrition as a result of being segregated in displaced camps, or villages, unable to work. To make matters worse, Muslim villagers face arbitrary arrest, torture, detainment and extortion at the hands of local authority.