17 fishermen escape from Arakan Army custody
PARBATTA NEWS DESK
Seventeen Bangladeshi fishermen have escaped after being detained at sea by the Arakan Army while fishing off Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar, according to local authorities.
The fishermen arrived at Shahpari Island jetty on a trawler around 11am on Thursday. The Coast Guard took them into custody before handing them over to police.
Police said the men were released to their families after initial verification. They were freed on the condition that they would not fish near Myanmar’s waters.
Officials said the incident followed the detention of 40 fishermen and five trawlers by the Arakan Army on Wednesday afternoon while they were fishing in the southeastern sea near Saint Martin’s Island.
One of the returning fishermen, Shamsul Alam, described how his group managed to escape. “On Tuesday we went fishing with a trawler owned by Mohammad Hasan of Shahpari Island. On Wednesday, a speedboat of the Arakan Army chased us and detained five trawlers,” he told reporters.
“There were nine of us on our trawler and eight more on another vessel. Two Arakan Army members boarded our boat and ordered us to head toward Myanmar while their speedboat followed behind,” he said.
“When the speedboat moved ahead in the dark, we turned in the opposite direction and sailed toward Saint Martin’s. At that point, the two Arakan Army men on our boat jumped into the sea and swam back towards their territory,” Shamsul Alam added.
Trawler owner Mohammad Hasan confirmed his vessel was among those targeted. “My trawler went fishing with 10 fishermen. The Arakan Army detained my trawler along with four others and tried to take them toward Myanmar. Later, taking advantage of darkness, my trawler managed to escape,” he said.
Teknaf Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abu Zayed Md Najmun Nur told reporters the fishermen were first taken into custody by the Coast Guard. “They were then handed over to the police. After verification, they were released to their families around 7pm on Thursday,” he said.
