Arakan Army abducts 15 Bangladeshi fishermen from Saint Martin

At least 15 fishermen, along with 3 fishing trawlers, have been abducted from the southeast waters of Saint Martin Island in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar by the Myanmar's rebel group, Arakan Army.

According to Mohammad Azim, president of the Fishing Trawler Owners' Association at Saint Martin's Jetty Ghat, the incident took place around 6:00 pm yesterday (Sunday) when the fishermen were catching fish in an area called Seeta, southeast of the island. They were held at gunpoint and taken away.

“The Arakan Army members chased the trawlers owned by Golachipa residents, Md. Afsar, Abu Taher, and Mohammad Alamgir, using speedboats and abducted the fishermen. Another trawler owned by Afsar’s brother, Nurul Islam, managed to escape and reported the incident,” he said.

No official statement has yet been received from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) or the Coast Guard regarding this incident.

Earlier, from 5 August to 28 August, the Arakan Army abducted 63 fishermen along with 10 trawlers. In the last 26 days alone, a total of 78 fishermen and 13 trawlers have been taken.

Since December of last year, the group has reportedly abducted 282 Bangladeshi fishermen from different points along the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal. Of them, 189 fishermen and 27 boats were returned following multiple efforts by the BGB.

However, on August 28, BGB Ramu Sector Commander Colonel Mohammad Mohiuddin Ahmed told journalists that 51 Bangladeshi fishermen remain in the Arakan Army’s captivity.

He said, “As they are considered a non-border factor group, BGB maintains informal communication with them and is pressuring the group to release the fishermen and stop further abductions”.