2025: 400 Rohingya Fishermen Abducted. No State. No Protection.
- Ahtaram Shin
- Feb 10
- 6 min read
Ahtaram Shin, Independent Journalist and Editor
RB Hafizu, Rohingya visual storyteller, journalist, writer, and human rights activist
Over the past year, more than 400 Rohingya fishermen have been forcibly disappeared by the Arakan Army. In the same period, Bangladeshi fishing trawlers operating in the Naf River were repeatedly abducted, with millions of taka in assets looted and Bangladeshi fishermen detained. Several news reports state that 188 people were later freed, yet more than 200 families are still waiting for the return of their loved ones, while many others remain in AA custody with their fate unknown. In stark contrast, Rohingya fishermen have vanished without any trace, and no one knows where they are or what has happened to them. While the Bangladesh government negotiated the release of its citizens, Rohingya fishermen have no state, no protection, and no one to advocate for their freedom.
A Lifeline Under Threat
For generations, the Naf River has sustained communities living along the Bangladesh–Myanmar border. Its waters have fed families, paid for children’s education, and anchored a way of life passed down through generations of poor people who depend on fishing for survival.
In 2024 up to now, a series of abductions by the 'Arakan Army' (AA) transformed the river into a place of fear, leaving fishermen and their families trapped in uncertainty. Fishermen from both Bangladeshi and Rohingya communities rely on the Naf River for survival, yet armed AA groups operating in northern Arakan State have increasingly turned civilians into targets for multiple purposes.
Fishing has been one of the major professions of the Rohingya from ancient times to the present. Many Rohingya once owned boats, trawlers, and wooden cargo vessels, but they lost everything within hours during the 2017 violence. Some Rohingya now work as labour fishermen on Bangladeshi trawlers to support their families. However, AA has been abducting them permanently, and they are unlikely to return from AA custody. Not only Rohingya, but also local Bangladeshi fishermen have become targets.
Fatema’s Story
Foyezullah’s wife, Fatema, said that in the 2nd August 2024, AA abducted her husband along with 30 others. The captain of the boat was Dilo Mazi.
“We saw a picture of them on the AA Facebook page,” she said. “Since then, I have had no information about my husband or the other 30 people on that boat. From the day of the arrest, I have been searching everywhere, but no one can tell me whether my husband is alive, injured, or killed. I am living in constant fear and uncertainty.”
Foyezullah suffers from several chronic illnesses, including kidney stones and other physical pain, and he cannot do heavy work. Because he has six children, he went fishing to support his family. He was abducted on August 2.
“Rations cannot fulfill a family’s needs,” Fatema said. “That is why he had to work to ensure our children’s survival.”
She herself suffers from high blood pressure and struggles to look after four daughters and two sons alone. “Without their father, my children are starving, crying, and suffering every day in this harsh camp environment. We have no income source, and I cannot provide food, clothing, or basic needs. My daughters wander the roads looking for their father, crying day and night and calling, ‘Father, Father.’ Their mental condition is getting worse.”
“I beg you with tears,” she said. “Please search for my husband and give me any information you can find. Please help bring my husband back to us. For three months, we have been living in unbearable hardship, fear, and hunger.”
Foyezullah’s captain, Dilo Mazi’s family, reported that they have been jailed for ten years in the Arakan Army’s prison. They also said that there is another group of fishermen. The other captain’s name is Zia, but they do not know exactly how many people were on Zia’s boat.
Force to claim fake identity for survival
A group of fishermen were released after pretending to be Bangladeshi. One of them was Mohammed Shofi, a 65-year-old fisherman living in Camp-14, Block B-3. He was the captain of 21 fishermen and had been fishing since his youth, first in Myanmar and later along the Naf River.
On February 13, 2025, Shofi was leading a group of 21 Rohingya fishermen when AA rebels intercepted them near southern Maungdaw, in the Myint Hlu (Merulla) Nayma-8 River, around midday.
“They arrested us along with our boats,” Shofi said. “All of us were Rohingya fishermen. We had nothing with us except fishing nets.”
Md Sultan, a trawler owner, told bdnews24 that the Arakan Army chased the boat with speedboats and abducted everyone. Along with the crew, assets worth nearly Tk 3 million were looted.
The group was taken to Sector-8 (Namay-8) in Myint Hlu, where they were detained together. After 16 days, AA separated Shofi from the others and transferred him alone to Maungdaw, where he was interrogated and his personal history recorded.
“I told them we were Bangladeshi,” Shofi said quietly. “If we said we were Rohingya, they would kill us or make us disappear like many other fishermen.”
Shofi was held in an AA cantonment in Maungdaw for at least 17 more days, isolated from the rest. While the others were later transferred to another AA camp, he remained separated as negotiations reportedly took place with Bangladeshi authorities for their release.
Release, Threats, and Extortion
After more than a month in detention, the fishermen were released in mid-March but under threat. Sources reported that many fishermen are now forced to pay “tax” to AA in order to fish in the area. A Bangladeshi fisherman said they were beaten immediately after arrest without any questioning, and all their materials were looted.
Targeting fishermen in the Naf River remains a mystery. Several fishermen and traders reported that AA abducted people not because they crossed into Myanmar waters, but directly from Bangladeshi territory. One fisherman said anonymously that some captives were released in exchange for food and medicine.
A Bangladeshi boatman told Prothom Alo that AA members looted fish, fuel, and food from the boats before eventually releasing them.
“They warned us that if we fish again near Arakan State’s border, we would be arrested and punished again,” Shofi said. “This is our only work.”
Their boats and fishing nets were never returned. The warning was not only a threat but it was a sentence of hunger for fishermen’s children and families. AA also confiscated food and medical supplies to support their fighting.
“We claimed we were Bengali,” Shofi said. “The trawler owner contacted the BGB, and we were handed over to Bangladesh. But there was no compensation. AA confiscated all our materials.” “We are uneducated people,” Shofi explained. “If we don’t fish in the river or sea, how will we feed our families? Fishing has been my profession since I lived in Myanmar. It is the only work I know.”
A Climate of Fear
Younger fishermen share the same fear. Hashim, 26, said AA rebels told them that fishing in the Naf River now requires permission. “They said, ‘If you want to fish here, you must make an agreement with the Arakan Army. Otherwise, we will kill you in the sea.’”
Another fisherman described the arrest as terrifying.
“We know they kill Rohingya. They beat people badly. We thought we would not survive. Only Allah saved us.”
He confirmed they were physically abused such as punched, kicked, beaten, and threatened at gunpoint.
Shofi’s case is not isolated. Throughout 2025, multiple abductions were reported along the Naf River. In February, fishermen were seized near Shah Porir Dwip, Gholarchar, and Naikhongdia. In August, armed men abducted 12 fishermen from one trawler, followed by dozens more over several weeks.
In early August 2024, BGB reported 51 fishermen abducted, Teknaf Upazila reported 58, and the trawler owners’ association reported 57 captives.
Another fisherman, Amin, said AA has abducted nearly 400 Rohingya fishermen since 2024. “They have also abducted hundreds of Bangladeshi fishermen. Some Bangladeshis were released after negotiations with BGB, but Rohingya fishermen have never been released. They are permanently disappeared.”
In early December 2025, Netra News confirmed that 188 people had been released while more than 200 families were still waiting for the return of their loved ones. Trawler owners also reported that among AA detainees were Rohingya day labourers working on fishing boats.
Human rights organizations have condemned the abductions and called for the immediate release of civilians and stronger protection for fishermen operating in border waters.
Yet for those living along the Naf River, solutions feel distant. Repeated arrests have turned a river of life into a river of fear. Until civilians are protected and fishermen can work without threats, families along the Naf will remain trapped between survival and danger—at the mercy of a conflict they neither chose nor control.
