Bangladeshi fishermen held hostage by Arakan Army men in Naf River

Bangladeshi fishermen are held hostage by the soldiers of the Arakan Army of Myanmar in the Naf River of Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, especially with frequently becoming victims of abduction by them.

Incidents of abducting fishermen and boatmen along with their trawlers from the Bay of Bengal and the Naf River by the soldiers of the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed organisation fighting for greater autonomy in Myanmar's Rakhine State, are increasing day by day.

It is learnt that 40 fishermen have been abducted by the Arakan Army members in the past 20 days. And in the past one year, 244 fishermen have been abducted by the Myanmar's armed rebel group. As a result, fishermen are afraid of going fishing in the river because of this terrorist force of Myanmar.

The AA soldiers enter the Bangladeshi waters of the Naf River riding speedboats and take away fishing trawlers along with fishermen at gunpoint.

The latest such incident took place on Monday (August 25) when AA men abducted seven Bangladeshi fishermen along with a fishing trawler. Earlier, 33 more fishermen had been abducted by the Myanmar rebel group in a span of four days.

Locals say that the Naf River and the adjacent Bay of Bengal are becoming unsafe for fishermen.

The Arakan Army men are frequently abducting fishermen from the Naf River estuary called Naikshangdia on Shahparir Island. The fishermen do not dare go fishing in the river fearing that they might get abducted or killed by the armed rebel group of Myanmar.

Trawler Owners Association General Secretary Abul Kalam said that trawler owners have suffered huge losses due to frequent incidents of abducting fishermen and looting their trawlers. If these incidents continue for a long time, there will occur huge losses for fishermen and owners.

Fisherman Abu Morshed said after fishing in the sea, on their way back to Teknaf, when they reached an area called Naikshangdia, adjacent to the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal estuary in the east-south of Shahparir Island, members of the Arakan Army chased them in a speedboat and took the fishermen hostage at gunpoint. The Arakan Army men then took control of the trawler and fishermen.

According to Trawler Owners Association and BGB sources, 244 Bangladeshi fishermen have been abducted by AA soldiers since December last year. Of them, 189 fishermen and 27 trawlers and boats were brought back in several phases through the efforts of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

Trawler owners claim that members of the Arakan Army are entering Bangladeshi waters of the Naf River in speedboats. They are capturing fishing trawlers with fishermen onboard from Teknaf at gunpoint. Although some fishermen have been brought back due to the activities of the BGB, incidents of abduction are not stopping. They have sought intervention of the administration in this regard.

An inquiry has found that Arakan Army men have captured 40 fishermen in the past 20 days. Of them, 14 fishermen with two trawlers were captured on August 24, 12 fishermen with a trawler on August 23, five fishermen with a trawler on August 12, and two fishermen with a boat on August 5.

Local public representatives said that fishermen are not able to fish in the Naf River because of the fear of the Arakan Army.

At different times, members of the Arakan Army capture fishermen on their way back from fishing. This has created panic among the fishing community.

Teknaf-2 BGB Commander Lt Colonel Md Ashiqur Rahman said that efforts are underway to bring back the fishermen and the seized trawler.

Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi (UNO) Md Sheikh Ehsan Uddin said that for the past few days, Arakan Army members have been holding Bangladeshi fishermen, along with their fishing trawlers, hostage at gunpoint on their way back after fishing in the Bay of Bengal. The matter has been reported to the higher authorities.

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