Border Tensions Rise: Arakan Army kidnaps 5 in Cox’s Bazar

Staff Reporter :

Cross-Border Tensions Rise as Myanmar’s armed rebel group Arakan Army has abducted five Bangladeshi fishermen from the Naf River estuary near Naikhongdia in Teknaf.

They were abducted on Tuesday morning around 8:30am from an area near the Naf River estuary close to Naikhongchhari in the Bay of Bengal.

TeknafUpazila Executive Officer (UNO) Sheikh Ehsan Uddin said inquiries were being conducted to ascertain the whereabouts of the abducted fishermen.

The abducted fishermen have been identified as Ilyas, son of Ali Ahmed of Jalia Para village on Shah Porir Island under Sabrang Union, TeknafUpazila, Ilyas’s son Akkal Ali and Nur Hossain, Saber Hossain, son of Kalu Mia and Saiful Islam, son of Nur Hossain.

The incident took place around 8:30 AM when the fishermen were catching fish in a small boat. Witnesses said that a group of armed Arakan Army members arrived in a speedboat, seized the fishermen at gunpoint, and forcibly took them-along with their boat-across the Myanmar border.

According to Abdul Gani, president of the Shah Porir Island Jalia Para Fishermen Association, members of the Arakan Army approached them in a speedboat and abducted them at gunpoint.
TeknafUpazilaNirbahi Officer (UNO) Sheikh Ehsan Uddin confirmed the abduction, saying authorities have initiated communication with relevant agencies to determine the victims’ whereabouts and secure their release. Sabrang Union Parishad member Abdus Salam said nearby fishermen witnessed the abduction and immediately informed the families.