The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an insurgent group active on the border with Bangladesh in Rakhine State, abducted two Muslims in Maungdaw Township, western Myanmar, on Saturday.
The abductees, reportedly in their 30s, are prawn farmers from Sabel Gon village.
They were abducted by approximately 20 ARSA troops while driving from Sabel Gon to Kyein Chaung village on Saturday evening, according to a Kyein Chaung villager. ARSA members set fire to their vehicle, he said.
“They pulled their car and some motorcyclists over, dragged the two men out and torched the vehicle. They told the motorcyclists in Burmese that they would not harm them and they could proceed,” the villager told The Irrawaddy.
The junta-controlled newspaper Myanma Alin reported that the rival Rohingya Solidarity Organization was responsible.
A Maungdaw town resident said: “We all know that ARSA abducted the men. Muslim villagers said that it was ARSA that abducted them. We guess the abduction was motivated by money. Maybe they refused to pay extortion money.”
Villagers said the two abductees were taken into the Mayu mountains and junta forces have not looked for them.
On July 19, the largely Buddhist Arakan Army and ARSA clashed in the Mayu mountains between two Muslim villages in Buthidaung. Both sides reportedly suffered casualties.
