DHAKA – Bangladeshi security agencies have arrested an Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) commander in connection with the killing of 14 Myanmar soldiers in Rakhine State in 2016.
Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Monday said Mohammad Ershad, also known as Noman Chowdhury, 27, had been arrested at the Kutupalang Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar in connection with the killing of Squadron Leader Rizwan Rushdee last year.
The intelligence officer was killed and several other RAB members injured by alleged ARSA members during an anti-smuggling operation near Myanmar’s border on November 14.
Lieutenant Colonel HM Shazzad Hassain of RAB said Ershad was the chief suspect in the killing and was the finance coordinator for the 48-year-old ARSA commander-in-chief Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi. The RAB said Ershad’s father, Sabbir Ahmed, who lives in the US, had connected his son with Ataullah.
Myanmar’s authorities said an estimated 250 assailants launched simultaneous dawn attacks on October 9, 2016, on three border police posts in Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships near the Bangladesh border.
According to the independent International Crisis Group, the attackers were armed mostly with knives and slingshots and about 30 firearms. Nine police officers were killed and at least 50 guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition were seized, it said.
The RAB said interrogations uncovered that Ershad was involved in the killing of 14 soldiers and looting of firearms at the Border Guard Police headquarters in Maungdaw in the 2016 attacks.
It said Ershad ran ARSA’s finances and had procured uniforms and radios for the Rohingya armed group.
Photos were shared of Ershad with a firearm and with Ataullah, who is now believed to be in hiding in Rakhine State.
The Bangladeshi authorities filed a case last November against Ataullah and 31 other named and 35 unnamed suspects over the Rushdee killing.
Mahfuz Imtiaz Bhuiyan of Ghum Dhum police, who is leading the investigation, said on Monday that nine ARSA members had been arrested in connection with the killing.
Since January, the authorities claim to have arrested at least 60 ARSA members with the group claiming its members are being targeted unnecessarily.
John Quinley, director of Fortify Rights, told The Irrawaddy welcomed Ershad’s arrest.
“ARSA and other militant groups have committed widespread abuses in the camps against refugees including killings, abductions, torture and harassment.
“Bangladesh authorities must uphold due process rights and fair trial standards for militant and criminal groups who have been arrested.”
He said Bangladesh must continue to ensure camp security while protecting refugee rights working alongside the UN refugee agency to provide access to protective spaces for refugees at risk.
