Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
Informed sources reported on Sunday that Arakan Army (AA), the separatist group controlling Arakan State, western Myanmar, and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) released boats seized by both sides, including fishing boats and cargo ships.
Arakan News Agency (ANA) correspondent reported that the Bangladesh border guards released eight cargo ships, including vessels carrying timber, on Wednesday. These ships had been detained at the Bangladeshi port of Teknaf since their arrival from the Maungdaw city located in Arakan State on April 14.
On the next day, Arakan Army released eight fishing boats and 26 nets owned by Bangladeshi fishermen and handed them over to BGB. On Friday, AA released eight more boats, according to an official source who spoke to ANA.
Between February and April, Arakan Army seized 18 fishing boats and 126 fishing nets and detained101 Bangladeshi fishermen for “illegally operating in the Naf River,” which separates Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Arakan Army later handed over two boats and their crews to Bangladesh.
A number of Bangladeshi fishermen were shot and arrested by the Arakan Army on the Naf River in May. Arrests and boat confiscations occur frequently, and they also target Rohingya fishermen living in Bangladeshi camps after fleeing the conflict in Arakan and resorting to fishing to earn a living due to widespread hunger in the camps.
Since the Arakan Army took control of Maungdaw and the entire coast of Arakan State on December 8, it has begun controlling movement on the Naf River and restricting fishermen. In February, 19 Bangladeshi fishermen were arrested and their boats confiscated, along with 24 Rohingya refugees.
Arakan Army controls most of Arakan after launching a military campaign in November 2023 to seize control over it. This campaign has been followed by widespread abuses against the Rohingya population, including violence, displacement, property confiscation, and forced conscription. Large numbers of Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh, joining the hundreds of thousands who fled a genocidal campaign perpetrated by the Myanmar military in 2017.
