Arakan Army kidnaps 4 Bangladeshi fishermen at gunpoint from Naf River
Myanmar’s armed insurgent group Arakan Army members have kidnapped four Bangladeshi fishermen at gunpoint along with their boat from the mouth of the Naf River in the Teknaf upazila of Cox's Bazar.
The incident took place around 11:00am today, Tuesday, near the Golarchor mouth of Shah Porir Dwip in the Subrang union of Teknaf, close to the Naikhyongdia area.
The four fishermen are Mohammad Hasan, 30, Abdu Rokim, 20, Mohammad Jaber,26, and Mohammad Hasan,16, all residents of Shah Porir Dwip’s South Ward in the Subrang union.
Lieutenant HM Sartaj Bin Sohrab, the station commander of the Shah Porir Dwip Coast Guard, and Bashir Ahmed, president of the boat owners’ association in the South Marine Dock of Shah Porir Dwip confirmed this to Prothom Alo.
After 11 months of conflict with Myanmar’s military junta, the Arakan Army seized control of the Mongdu Township in the Rakhine State on 8 December. Since then, they have imposed a ban on all boat traffic in the Naf River's waters under their control.
Citing locals, Lieutenant Sartaj Bin Sohrab said that Mohammad Hasan, along with the four fishermen, took his boat out to fish in the Naf River mouth as usual this morning. At one point, a group of people from Myanmar in a speedboat surrounded the Bangladeshi fishermen’s boat at gunpoint. They then took the fishermen and their boat back toward Myanmar. The Coast Guard was informed of the incident by locals. The matter was later reported to senior Coast Guard officials, along with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and local administration.
Bashir Ahmed, the president of the boat owners’ association Shah Porir Dwip's South Marine Dock, said that the incident has created panic in the fishing community. Local administration, including the BGB, has been informed of the event.
Some local elected representatives, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that some drug traffickers were using fishing boats to smuggle large shipments of drugs from Myanmar. On 1 February, a major drug haul of 160,000 yaba pills was seized from a Jubo Dal leader’s boat that was allegedly involved in trafficking drugs. During the Coast Guard’s chase, a fisherman named Abdus Shafi, 45, drowned.
When contacted, the Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Sheikh Ehsan Uddin said, “I have heard about the fishermen being taken. Our law enforcement agencies are working to bring them back.”
He further added that due to ongoing conflicts inside Myanmar, most areas on the other side of the border are under the control of the Arakan Army. It is believed that the Arakan Army members might have abducted the Bangladeshi fishermen. However, the BGB and Coast Guard have increased surveillance and security along the Naf River border.