Arakan Army captures 20 Bangladeshi fishermen

Arakan Army, Myanmar’s anti-junta rebel group, has captured 20 fishermen and 15 fishing boats from Bangladesh’s Teknaf upazila, the group’s second such cross-border raid in about a month.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Myanmar rebels abducted the fishermen at gunpoint from an area near an estuary of Naf river and the Bay of Bengal, local government officials confirmed.

The incident followed hours of mortar shelling in Myanmar border areas that shook Bangladeshi territories.

Earlier, on 8 October, the group had captured 5 Bangladeshi fishermen along with a boat, but later returned them to BGB mediators.

On Tuesday, the armed rebels entered the Naf river on a big trawler and captured the fishermen when they were fishing in the estuary, said Abdus Salam, a ward member at Sabrang union under Teknaf.

All the captured fishermen are from Jaliapara and Camppara areas of Shah Porir Dwip in Sabrang union, Abdus Salam said. He failed to provide the names of the fishermen, however.

Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Adnan Chowdhury and Teknaf-2 BGB chief Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed also confirmed the abduction, citing local administration officials and family members of the captured individuals.

Mohiuddin Ahmed assured reporters that Myanmar rebel authorities had already been contacted for ensuring the safe return of the abductees.

Arakan Army controls swathes of land in Myanmar having progressively driven out the regular army across different regions. Bangladeshi fishermen were taken to rebel-held border areas after these parts were bombed by Myanmar air force.