In Bangladesh, security authorities have apprehended the leader of a Rohingya insurgent faction on allegations of illicit entry, sabotage, and terrorist involvement within the country. Bangladesh currently accommodates over a million Rohingya refugees who fled neighboring Myanmar. The Rapid Action Battalion executed the arrest of Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, recognized as the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, during an operation in the Narayanganj district close to Dhaka’s capital.
Jununi, born in Pakistan and raised in Mecca, heads a group known for executing assaults against Myanmar officials. The group’s actions are part of what it terms a “defensive war” against the harsh Burmese military government, aimed at safeguarding the Rohingya people who endure severe discrimination and violence in Myanmar. Intelligence in Bangladesh reports that ARSA members have engaged in various criminal activities within the Rohingya refugee settlements, including targeted killings, abductions, smuggling, and drug trafficking. The internal battles and retaliatory acts within the camps have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Rohingya individuals.
The local news outlet, Daily Star, disclosed that alongside Jununi, ten other members, including some women and children, were captured during separate operations in Narayanganj and Mymensingh districts. Senior police official Shahinur Alam from Narayanganj commented that authorities confiscated cash, a knife, a blade-adorned steel chain, and four wristwatches during the operation. A magistrate granted permission to police to detain Jununi and six others for further interrogation, while four were remanded to prison.
The specifics of Jununi’s arrival and continued presence in Bangladesh remain shrouded in mystery. According to the International Crisis Group, ARSA was established in 2016 by Rohingya exiles residing in Saudi Arabia, led by Jununi alongside a panel of approximately 20 Rohingya expatriates. The organization notes there are signs Jununi and his associates might have undergone militant training in Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan.
Rohingya people have historically been denied fundamental rights and citizenship by successive administrations in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, who regard them as foreign invaders from Bangladesh despite their generational presence in the country. For decades, Bangladesh has harbored over a million Rohingya asylum seekers, including more than 700,000 who sought refuge in 2017 following Myanmar’s aggressive campaign in Rakhine state. Another influx of 70,000 occurred last year, with countless babies being born in extensively spread camps across the country yearly.
The turmoil in Myanmar persists as another faction, the Arakan Army, seized control of the Rakhine state, the originating area of the Rohingya refugees before their mass migration to Bangladesh.
