Arakan News Agency
The Bangladesh Coast Guard arrested 122 fishermen and boatmen, including 93 Rohingya, on Friday morning during raids in Teknaf municipality of Cox’s Bazar district, accusing them of crossing the Naf River to fish inside Myanmar waters.
Salahuddin Rashid Tanvir of Teknaf Coast Guard said the detainees include crews from 19 Bangladeshi trawlers. He noted that the area opposite Teknaf, in Arakan State of western Myanmar, is currently under the control of Arakan Army militias, who capture Bangladeshi fishermen as soon as they cross the zero line.
The Coast Guard stated that legal proceedings are underway against the detainees. Meanwhile, trawler owners reported that between August 5 and 28, the Arakan Army abducted around 63 fishermen and seized 10 trawlers.
According to official statistics, since December 2024, a total of 267 Bangladeshi fishermen has been abducted across the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal, of whom 189 have returned.
In August alone, Arakan militias abducted 12 Bangladeshi fishermen from the Naf River on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border as they were returning from a fishing trip in the Bay of Bengal and also captured five fishermen along with their boat at the river’s estuary.
Similar incidents have previously been carried out by Arakan militias, including the arrest of six Bangladeshi fishermen and the seizure of their boat while fishing in the Naf River, which separates Bangladesh from Arakan state in western Myanmar. They also abducted 19 Bangladeshi fishermen and confiscated their boats while they were at sea.
The Buddhist Arakan militias currently control most of Arakan state, after launching a military campaign in November 2023 against Myanmar’s junta. They have already seized large swathes of territory as a result of the conflict, which has also severely impacted the Rohingya, who have faced violence, forced displacement, persecution, and conscription from both sides. This comes after the Myanmar army’s “genocide” campaign since 2017, which forced nearly one million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.
