Bangladesh security officials arrested Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi, the commander-in-chief of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), on charges of illegal entry, sabotage, and terrorist activities, according to AP News.
The arrest took place during a raid in Narayanganj district near Dhaka, according to police. Jununi, a Pakistani-born Rohingya who grew up in Mecca, leads a group that has carried out attacks against Myanmar officials, claiming to fight on behalf of the persecuted Rohingya minority.
Jununi was arrested by Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Tuesday, along with 10 other ARSA members, including four women and children, in separate raids in Narayanganj and Mymensingh districts. Authorities seized cash, a knife, a sharp steel chain, and four wristwatches during the operation.
A magistrate has authorised police to detain Jununi and six others for interrogation, while four others were sent to prison.
ARSA, formed in 2016 by Rohingya exiles in Saudi Arabia, is led by Jununi and a committee of about 20 Rohingya emigres. The group has been accused of targeted killings, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and other crimes in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.
According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), there are indications that Jununi and other ARSA members received militant training in Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan. The group describes its actions as a “defensive war” against Myanmar’s military regime, which has long denied the Rohingya basic rights and citizenship, labeling them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh despite their generational presence in Myanmar.
Jununi’s arrest highlights the challenges Bangladesh faces in managing the Rohingya refugee crisis, which has strained resources and security in the region.
Bangladesh hosts over 1 million Rohingya refugees, including more than 700,000 who fled Myanmar’s violent military crackdown in Rakhine State in 2017. Another 70,000 Rohingya arrived in Bangladesh last year, and thousands of babies are born annually in the sprawling refugee camps.
