Recently, border forces have been avoiding arrest of Burmese Muslim migrants they run into and have instead been pushing them back to Burma.

The merchant said that a five-member family from Buthidaung Township in Arakan State was victim of this new tactic on Saturday when they encountered a Bangladesh Rifles team while entering Bangladesh territory through Sapuri Island in the Naff River.

The family, including two minors, was being led by Nobi Hussan and entered Bangladesh to seek asylum as refugees, but was pushed back into Burma by the BDR forces.

Recently, many Muslim families from Burma have faced similar action by Bangladesh authorities when trying to enter Bangladesh without documents to seek refuge.

Nearly 1,000 Burmese nationals, mainly Muslims from Arakan State, are currently being detained in several Bangladesh prisons for illegally entering Bangladesh. After being arrested, Bangladesh authorities are unable to deport them because the Burmese authority refuses to accept them claiming that they are not Burmese citizens.

It is because of these difficulties in repatriating undocumented Burmese migrants through normal channels that Bangladesh border security forces have in all likelihood switched to this new tactic of pushing them back across the border without arresting them, the merchant said.