Khaing Lu Hla (Roma Mray) — Five Bangladeshi fishermen were detained by the Arakan Army (AA) coast guard from Naf river, reported Bangladeshi media outlets.

Four of them are identified as Md Shahed, Shah Alam, Amir Abbas and Abul Hossain, all hail from Jaliyapara area of Shah Porir island, while  the fifth one is yet to be done.

They were brought by the AA coast guard from the mouth of Naf on Tuesday night, added the report.

The incident took place at Naykkongdia, near Shah Porir island, as the fishermen were returning from  fishing in the river on a fishing boat owned by Mahmud Ullah.

Another fisherman, Ataur Rahman, who witnessed the incident and escaped from another fishing boat, said a group of gunmen intercepted the  Bangladeshi fishing boats as they were returning together.

Four other fishing boats managed to escape. Meanwhile, the detained fishermen were  taken to Rakhine State in western Myanmar, he stated.

Bangladeshi fishermen often come closer to the Myanmar waters and such incidents happen very frequently.

Abdus Salam, a member of the Shah Porir island community confirmed the detention and revealed that the incident caused panic to the local fishermen.

He urged the Bangladesh authorities to take an immediate initiative to rescue the detained individuals.

Teknaf model police station in-charge Md Saiful Islam said that they are investigating the matter and necessary legal actions would be taken on time.

The AA fighters earlier arrested 73 Bangladeshi fishermen for illegally fishing in Rakhine waters and later handed them over to the Border Guard Bangladesh personnel on 16 February.

Regarding the recent incident, the AA has not yet issued any statement till the filing of the report.