Teknaf, Nov 20 (V7N) – The Arakan Army has detained 16 fishermen along with three fishing trawlers for allegedly entering Myanmar’s territorial waters, according to Bangladeshi boat owners and local sources.

The Arakan Army has arrested a total of 16 fishermen from three trawlers on charges of illegally crossing into Myanmar’s maritime boundary. The detainees include both Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya fishermen, confirmed Sajed Ahmed, president of the Kayukkhaly Boat Owners’ Association under Teknaf municipality.

According to Ahmed, the incident occurred while the trawlers were fishing south of Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal. He said that one of the seized vessels belongs to Zakir, a resident of the Collegepara area in Teknaf. Six Rohingya youths on board that trawler were taken away by Arakan Army personnel. Information later emerged that two additional trawlers, carrying ten more fishermen, had also been seized, although the identities of those detainees could not be confirmed immediately. Efforts are underway to verify the details of everyone detained.

Myanmar-based media outlet Global Arakan Network reported that Arakan Coastal Security Patrol units have intensified surveillance operations to prevent what they describe as unauthorized entry by Bangladeshi fishing boats. According to the report, the patrol intercepted a trawler at 7:15 a.m. on 18 November, approximately 2.7 kilometers off the western coast of Thawing Chaung village in Maungdaw Township, detaining six Bangladeshi fishermen. Fishing nets, various species of fish, and Bangladeshi currency were confiscated from the vessel.

Later the same day, security forces conducted another operation roughly 3.58 kilometers off the coast of Rathedaung Township, where they detained two more trawlers with ten fishermen on board. Nets, fish, and other fishing equipment were seized during that operation as well. The Arakan authorities later handed over all three trawlers, the 16 detainees, and the confiscated materials to relevant officials for legal action under local maritime regulations.

The latest arrests follow a similar incident on 12 November, when the Arakan Army detained 13 Rohingya fishermen along with two trawlers after they allegedly crossed the maritime boundary while fishing in the Bay of Bengal. Earlier, between 18 January and 18 July 2025, Arakan authorities returned 188 Bangladeshi fishermen and 30 boats to Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds.

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