Arakan Army abducts 20 Bangladeshi fishermen from Naf River
Twenty Bangladeshi fishermen, along with 17 small fishing boats, were reportedly abducted by members of the Arakan Army, a Myanmar-based armed group, while fishing in the Naf River estuary near Teknaf in Cox's Bazar.
According to Abdus Salam, a representative of the Subrang Union Parishad, the fishermen were seized on Tuesday afternoon while casting their nets from two motorized boats and 15 rowboats in the estuary connecting the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal.
'Each boat had two fishermen onboard using nets when a large trawler carrying Arakan Army members approached. The group took 20 fishermen at gunpoint,' said Salam.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed, commander of the Teknaf-2 Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), confirmed that local residents and the fishermen’s families had reported the incident. 'We are in communication with Myanmar authorities to address this matter,' he added.
This incident follows a previous one on October 9, when 58 Bangladeshi fishermen and six trawlers, departing from Shah Pari Island jetty on October 6, were detained by the Myanmar Navy. In that encounter, a Bangladeshi fishing vessel was fired upon, resulting in three fishermen being injured, one fatally. The detained fishermen were eventually returned.
.png "Advertisement")
