The “Arakan Army”, Myanmar’s armed rebel group, has abducted 33 Bangladeshi fishermen in three consecutive days. “For several days, Arakan Army members have been holding Bangladeshi trawlers and fishermen hostage at gunpoint on their way back from the Bay of Bengal,” said Sheikh Ehsan Uddin, the Teknaf Upazila administrator (UNO). Quoting a fisherman who was on the trawler, Kalam said members of the Arakan Army pursued them in a speedboat and took them hostage at gunpoint. From December of last year to Monday, the Arakan Army has abducted 244 Bangladeshi fishermen from the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal, according to officials. Of those, 189 fishermen and 27 trawlers have been rescued in several phases through the efforts of the Bangladesh Coast Guard.
