Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has successfully brought back 26 fishermen from the Arakan Army, who had been abducted from different times in the Naf River in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar.
The fishermen were returned through the Teknaf-Myanmar transit jetty, near Chowdhury Para of Teknaf Municipality, at around 5:30pm on Saturday, according to Lieutenant Colonel Ashikur Rahman, commander of BGB-2 Battalion in Teknaf.
The BGB commander said: “To bring back the fishermen who were abducted from the Naf River at various times, BGB initiated contact with the Arakan Army and began efforts. After prolonged negotiations, BGB succeeded in retrieving 26 fishermen on Saturday evening.” He further said: “Information is being collected from the returned fishermen. They will be handed over to their families afterwards.”
In March, the fishermen had been detained while fishing. Among those returned, some are reportedly Rohingyas from various camps, according to BGB.
One of the returned fishermen, Abdul Aziz, said: “The Arakan Army took us to establish better communication with the Bangladesh government. By returning us, the Arakan Army wants to build a better relationship with the Bangladeshi government.”
Another returned fisherman, Abdullah, said: “I’m very happy to be back in my country after so many days. They primarily took us while we were returning after fishing near the Naikhongdia and Bangladesh borders. The Arakan Army told us that we were detained for illegally fishing in their waters.”
Teknaf Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Sheikh Ehsan Uddin commented: “Thanks to the efforts of the BGB, the 26 fishermen who had gone fishing and were detained have been brought back. The government is also working to bring back the others.”