COX'S BAZAR, Sept 15: The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has brought back 16 Bangladeshi fishermen who were made captive by Myanmar's Arakan army while fishing in the Bay of Bengal.
Commanding Officer of Teknaf's BGB-2 Lt Col Mohammad Mohiuddin Ahmed said the Arakan army handed over the fishermen to Teknaf BGB at the neutral line of the Naf River last night.
The fishermen are Md Ismail, 27, Abdul Hafeez, 28, Azizur Rahman, 45, Abu Hena, 40, Mohammad Ali, 40, Mohammad Arafat, 30, Md Helal, 28, Aman Ullah, 50, Nabi Hussain, 28, Md Salimullah, 45, Md Yunus, 52, Md Sagar, 22, Md Salim, 28, Dil Mohammad, 27 and Rahim Ullah, 52, and Md Joynal, 55.
The fishermen had set off to fish in the deep waters of the Bay of Bengal from Nunyarchhara Fishery Ghat in Cox's Bazar on September 28.
But in the evening of October 5, they were attacked by unidentified miscreants and robbers, who assaulted the fishermen and held them hostage inside the trawler deck.
Armed hoodlums freed the fishermen at a location in the Myanmar part of the Bay of Bengal on October 7.
Subsequently, the fishermen contacted the Arakan army through local Myanmar civilians and surrendered to them. The BGB was informed of the matter on October 13.
Following negotiations, the Arakan army handed over the fishermen to the BGB at the zero line of the Naf River last night. The fishermen have already been handed over to their respective families.
