About 1,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled from Rakhine state were stranded in the Naf river, bordering Bangladesh. They fled to escape after a clash between Muslim militants and the army of Myanmar.
"A lot of Rohingyas are trying to enter the country, but we have a zero-tolerance policy - nothing is allowed," Cox deputy district co-commander in Baza near the border of Myanmar, Mohammad Ali Hossain, told Reuters on Saturday (26/08/2017).
The departure of 1,000 ethnic Rohingyas seemed to signal a greater clash.
Earlier, Muslim militants launched a coordinated attack on 24 police posts and tried to enter a military base on Friday. At least 89 people were killed, including 77 rebels and 12 members of the security forces, the military said.
Observers fear that the attack will trigger a more aggressive military response than last year. The attacks are also feared sparking communal clashes between Muslims and ethnic Buddhists Rakhine.
"The attack on August 25th in Rakhine needs to be full attention! Violence must be stopped in Rakhine, sorrow for the dead, begging all sides to restrain themselves! Everyone!" Said Yanghee Lee, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar through his Twitter account.
In a statement, Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on security forces in Rakhine State.
"I would like to commend the police and security forces who have acted very courageously in the face of many challenges," he said.
The Burmese government has evacuated officials from the interior ministry, teachers and hundreds of non-Rohingya villagers to major military and police stations.
"The government made six evacuation checkpoints, some will be evacuated by helicopter and some will be carried by security forces," said a military source.
The source said troops and police were battling militants, who carried out at least one new attack on security forces and destroyed a bridge on Saturday morning.
They are fighting now, the situation will be tense again today, although there is no fighting at night, "said the source.