Authorities in Bangladesh have arrested Rohingya insurgent leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi on charges of murder, illegal entry, sabotage, and militancy, police said on Wednesday.
Ataullah, the leader of the Rohingya insurgent group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), and 10 others were arrested on Tuesday during a raid in Narayanganj district, near Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.
Ataullah Led ARSA Campaign
According to an International Crisis Group report, Ataullah led ARSA’s violent campaign in 2016 against Myanmar’s security forces to reclaim the rights of the Rohingya, who say they face persecution at the hands of Myanmar’s Buddhist majority.
He has been identified by analysts as ARSA’s leader and appeared in a series of videos claiming responsibility for the attacks on Myanmar security forces.
ARSA’s attacks on the border guard posts brought a military crackdown in Myanmar with more than 750,000 Rohingya forced to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017.
ARSA is also suspected of being behind the 2021 murder of Mohib Ullah, a prominent Rohingya leader who advocated for the return of refugees to Myanmar. His death was a blow to efforts to peacefully address the Rohingya crisis.
ARSA’s Alleged Criminal Activities
The ARSA was initially formed as an insurgent group to resist the persecution of the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.
Bangladesh police said the group’s activities extend beyond insurgent operations, with ARSA members allegedly involved in criminal activities such as killings, kidnappings, and cross-border smuggling within the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh – home to more than a million Rohingya Muslims, the world’s largest refugee settlement.
The group’s presence in the refugee camps has also led to violent infighting, with dozens of deaths resulting from clashes between ARSA members and rival factions.
Jununi’s arrest on Tuesday followed a report from a regional rights group stating that at least 65 Rohingya were killed last year in violent clashes between rival militant factions vying for dominance in Bangladeshi refugee camps.
ARSA, led by Jununi, has been engaged in a long-standing conflict with its chief rival, the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), as well as other armed groups, all competing for control over the camps.
According to Fortify Rights, these groups were responsible for dozens of killings, assaults, kidnappings, and extortion cases in 2023. While the number of documented fatalities dropped from 90 in the previous year, violence remains a persistent issue within the camps.
(With inputs from Reuters)
