Reports of hundreds fleeing Myanmar being pushed back by Bangladesh said to be false

An inquiry into news reports by Reuters that nearly 200 people fleeing Myanmar had been arrested and repulsed yesterday by Bangladesh border guards has been found to be false, according to the News Information Committee of the State Counsellor’s Office.
A representative of the Myanmar Border Guard made a contact with Lt Col Abu Zar Al Zahid, Commander of No. 2 Border Guard Bangladesh with the help of an interpreter to inquire about the media reports that claimed hundreds of people trying to enter Bangladesh across the river Naf were stopped and pushed back into Myanmar. Lt. Col. Abu Zar Al Zahid said he had also heard the same reports, but stated such events never happened, it is learnt.
The news reports allegedly said the mass exodus from Myanmar into Bangladesh was the result of situations currently occurring in the north-western part of Maungtaw in the villages of Yaykhatchaung Gwasone, Myawtaung, Dargyizar, Yedwinkyun, Pwintphyu, Ushaygya and Ngakhuya. It was further reported that nearly 200 may have been kept in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Due to the faulty news reports, the News Information Committee of the State Counsellor’s Office said that inquiries were made by Myanmar of the Bangladesh army and border guard forces as to whether there were armed conflicts or not at the border areas.
The news item of November 16 from Reuters News Agency further reported that Myanmar government troops were said to have shot dead 72 people who tried to flee. These claims also said to be false. The border guard representatives said that there was no conflict at the border areas and stated that their combined forces were launching inland area clearance operations.