‘Arakan Army’ abducts 12 more Bangladeshi fishermen from Naf River

Teknaf UNO says authorities are working to secure their return

The Arakan Army, an insurgent group in Myanmar, has allegedly abducted 12 Bangladeshi fishermen from the Naf River estuary near Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar as they were returning from fishing in the Bay of Bengal.

Teknaf administrator (UNO) SK Ahsan Uddin said the group took the fishermen along with their boat from the Naikhyangdiya area on Saturday afternoon.

The abducted fishermen have been identified as: Md Ali Ahmad, 39; Mohammad Amin, 34; Fazal Karim, 52; Kefayet Ullah, 40; Saiful Islam, 23; Saddam Hossain, 40; Md Russell, 23; Md Soyaib, 22; Arif Ullah, 35; Mohammad Mostaq, 35; and Nurul Amin, 45.

They are all from the villages of Shah Porir Dwip.

Abdul Gafur, president of the Shah Porir Dwip Trawler Owners’ Cooperative Society, said the men were taken while returning from sea fishing.

“The fishermen are not safe. Incidents like this are happening repeatedly. A permanent solution is needed,” he added.

Trawler owner Sultan Ahmed said the 12 fishermen were returning to the shore due to adverse weather in the morning.

“We learnt about the incident from the crew of another trawler that made it back,” he added. “Two phones on board the abducted trawler have been unreachable since noon, which suggests the Arakan Army took the boat and its crew.”

“We are all working on the matter so that the fishermen can be brought back quickly,” UNO Ahsan said.

On the morning of Aug 12, the Arakan Army abducted five other fishermen from Jaliapara in Shah Porir Dwip in a similar incident in the same area of the river. They are yet to be released.

Since December last year, the group has reportedly abducted 211 Bangladeshi fishermen from different points along the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal.

Through several efforts by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), 189 of them, along with 27 boats, have been brought back.