The Bangladesh government has ordered its ambassador to Myanmar, Md. Monowar Hossain, to return to Dhaka with immediate effect, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Tuesday.

Monowar Hossain, who assumed his post in Naypyidaw in August 2023, was directed to leave his position following rising diplomatic tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

According to diplomatic sources, the move follows a protest from Myanmar’s military junta over reports of alleged contact between Bangladeshi officials and the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group operating in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. 

The matter came to light after Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman publicly acknowledged such communication.

In response, Myanmar’s ruling State Administration Council, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, reportedly expressed its displeasure by sending a formal diplomatic note to Dhaka.

Earlier this month, Brigadier General Aftab Hossain, a defence advisor stationed at the Bangladesh embassy in Yangon, was also ordered to be withdrawn on an urgent basis.

SMS/