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Myanmar frees Bangladeshi soldier after ministry protest

Myanmar frees Bangladeshi soldier after ministry protest

By REUTERS

Members of the Border Guard Bangladesh patrol the bank of Naf river at Teknak May 30, 2015. Thousands of people, including Bangladeshis, have been trying to slip into Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia for years through people-smuggling networks. The journey for a large number begins in the coastal town of Teknaf bounded on one side by Myanmar from where the Rohingya cross over, and the Bay of Bengal on the other. Picture taken May 30, 2015. REUTERS/Rafiqur Rahman

DHAKA: Myanmar on Thursday freed a Bangladeshi paramilitary soldier whose capture this month had become a diplomatic sore point between the two countries, a Bangladesh border guard official said. Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry summoned the Myanmar ambassador in Dhaka on June 18, the day after Abdur Razzak was seized, and lodged a strong protest asking for his immediate release. Razzak, from the Border Guard Bangladesh, was returned back at Teknaf, in southern Bangladesh, on Thursday evening after a battalion commander level flag meeting between the two sides, the official said. Razzak was seized and another Bangladeshi guard was wounded by Myanmar forces on June 17 after the two sides exchanged gunfire while chasing drug smugglers on the Naff River separating the countries. Bangladesh shares about 270 km of border with Myanmar.