Arakan Army Denies Detained Individual is a Member of Their Forces

News

Global Arakan Network                                                                                      August 12, 2025

Individual Bangladeshi Citizen Detained by Bangladeshi Security Forces (photocrd)

The Arakan Army (AA) has refuted claims that an individual detained by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was a member of their forces, following reports of the arrest. According to bdnews24, a Bangladeshi online news outlet, a 21-year-old Bangladeshi citizen named Jibon Tanchanja from Naikhongchhari, Bandarban, was apprehended with an AK-47 rifle, 52 rounds of ammunition, and two magazines after fleeing into Bangladesh.

U Khaing Thukha, ULA/AA spokesperson, said that the individual was not a member of the Arakan Army but a young man from the Daingnet ethnic group in Bangladesh who had access to the AA’s Taungpyoletwea township office. The individual allegedly exploited this trust to steal weapons and ammunition before fleeing.

“This person is not a member of our forces,” U Khaing Thukha said.

“A young Bangladeshi Daingnet who frequently visited our Taungpyoletwea township office took advantage of our trust, stole a small firearm, some ammunition, and a mobile phone from our camp, and then fled to Bangladesh.”

The young man crossed the border and surrendered his weapons to the BGB for security reasons. He is currently in custody, according to Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Jarsin Uddin, commander of the Ukhiya-64 BGB battalion in Cox’s Bazar, southeast Bangladesh. Uddin confirmed the detention to a Bangladeshi online news outlet on August 11.