Five Bangladeshi fishermen, who were abducted allegedly by members of the Arakan Army from the Naf river near Shah Porir Dwip in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf, have been released through the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
The fishermen were brought back to the country through the Jetty Ghat at Teknaf’s Jaliapara today (9 October) at around 1:30pm, said Commander of BGB’s Battalion-2 at Teknaf Lt Col Md Mohiuddin Ahmed.
The fishermen have been identified as Md Alam, 22, Md Rasel Mia, 23, Md Saiful Mia, 17, Borhan Uddin, 19, and Md Rashed, 24.
These fishermen were abducted on Monday noon (7 October), according to Member of Sabrang union parishad Abdus Salam.
“Although the fishermen were abducted on Monday, the incident was known yesterday. According to their family members, the fishermen were abducted when they went to catch fish in the Naf River. BGB members were then informed about the incident,” said Salam.
Asked about the rescue process, the BGB commander said they contacted Myanmar after coming to know of the matter.
“Due to the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, that part of the country [Naf River area] is currently occupied by the Arakan Army. So, it was assumed that they had abducted the fishermen. After contacting the Arakan Army, a BGB team went to the zero point at Naf River. They then returned the fishermen. Currently, the process of handing them over to their families is underway,” Mohiuddin added.
