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Bangladesh-Myanmar Border Tense Over Fencing
3/18/2009 5:14 AM ET
(RTTNews) - Tension along the 200-km. Bangladesh-Myanmar border has risen after Yangon reportedly mobilized extra troops, and started erecting a barbed-wire fence on the frontline, media say.

Myanmar's move has forced authorities in Dhaka to ask its Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) paramilitary border guard force to stay alert on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, as reports said panic had gripped frontier villages.

The border tensions came soon after a stand-off between the maritime forces of the two countries in the Bay of Bengal a few months ago over the exploration of offshore oil.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni merely said:"I do not like to voice any opinion now. We will firm up our stance after considering the situation."

However, Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder, acknowledged that Myanmar had pushed reinforcements of its paramilitary forces across the river Naaf, and started the construction of infrastructure for them near the frontier, but Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain said that Bangladesh had no problem if Myanmar erected a fence on its side of the territory.

by RTT Staff Writer

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