20 fishermen captured from Naf River to be brought back soon: BGB
The 20 Bangladeshi fishermen who were captured along with their boats while fishing in the Naf River in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, are in the custody of Myanmar's armed rebel group Arakan Army and will be brought back soon, said the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
The Arakan Army is being contacted to bring them back, said Lieutenant Colonel Md Mohiuddin Ahmed, commander of the Teknaf 2 Battalion of Border Guard Bangladesh.
"Considering the progress of the talks, we hope it will be possible to bring back the captured Bangladeshi fishermen soon," he added.
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Earlier, these fishermen were captured from the area near Naikhongdia, adjacent to the estuary of the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal in Teknaf yesterday.
The fishermen are residents of Shahparir Dwip Jaliapara in Sabrang Union of Teknaf.
They are, Md Hasim, 30, Md Hosain, 20, Mohiuddin, 22, Enayet Ullah, 32, Abdul Shukkur, 35, Nur Hafez, 22, Md Yasin, 30, Abdur Rahim, 24, Hasan Ali, 33, Osman Goni, 30, Shah Alam, 22, Asmat Ullah, 20, Abdul Shukkur, 26, Abul Hossain, 17, Ayub Khan, 30, Nur Hossain, 22, Md Belal, 18, Salim, 27, Abdul Kader, 22, and Ibne Amin, 35.
After the incident, UP member Abdus Salam of Ward 7 of Sabrang Union said, "Yesterday afternoon, members of the Arakan Army captured these 20 fishermen while they were fishing in the estuary of the Naf River on two engine-powered boats and 13 manual boats.
"These fishermen were fishing with one or two people in each boat with small nets. Members of the Arakan Army came in a large trawler and captured them at gunpoint."
Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Adnan Chowdhury said he was informed about the incident by public representatives and later, higher officials and the BGB were informed.
