Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
Local sources in northern Maungdaw, Arakan State, reported that members of the Arakan Buddhist Militias (Arakan Army) arrested six Rohingya fishermen on Thursday near a shrimp pond in Pithar Khaiing Village, without providing any official reason for the arrests.
According to eyewitnesses cited by an Arakan News Agency correspondent, the detainees are residents of Kyauk Hla Kar Village and were on a fishing trip at the time of their arrest. Witnesses confirmed that they have no links to any military activities or armed groups. The six men were taken directly to the Maungdaw Police Station, where they are currently being held without their families being allowed to visit them.
Families of the detainees expressed deep concern for their safety amid a lack of information about their condition and exact location. Community leaders from the Rohingya warned that such arbitrary arrests could lead to tension and threaten security and stability in the area.
Human rights organizations have called on the leadership of the Arakan Militias to investigate the circumstances of the incident and to immediately release the fishermen unless clear legal charges are brought against them, stressing that respect for civilian rights is essential to maintaining peace in Arakan State.
Similar incidents of disappearance and abduction of Rohingya fishermen have previously occurred after going out to sea. Among them was the case of three fishermen from Thar Si Kway Village in northern Maungdaw, who went fishing in the Naf River on the evening of October 8 and did not return home the following morning as usual.
In addition, the Arakan Militias arrested three Rohingya fishermen last May from Thay Chaung Village in the Kyauk Lay Gar area of Maungdaw, Arakan State, while they were returning from a fishing trip. Six other fishermen went missing in the Naf River last April after setting out on a fishing trip with official permission from the militias. Likewise, 15 Rohingya fishermen were previously arrested from Dar Baing Sayar Village in Buthidaung Township.
