11 fishermen hurt in Nasaka firing in Bay

Bangladeshis forced to stop fishing near St Martin’s island
Nasaka, the border security force of Myanmar, opened fire on a group of Bangladeshi fishermen in Batirdia sea channel under Teknaf upazila near Saint Martin’s Island, Thursday morning, leaving 11 fishermen wounded, according to a delayed report.
Bangladeshi fishermen have not been able to go fishing in the channel since the incident.
Fishermen said Nasaka fired gunshots at them within the maritime boundary of Bangladesh in East Bay of Bengal and looted their fishing nets and other valuables.
They said fishermen in Cox’s Bazar area have been catching Hilsa fish in large numbers since June 1. Till Thursday they caught Hilsa worth about Tk 6 crore, they added.
“Nasaka entered into the channel Thursday morning and attacked us, so that we don’t go fishing there,” said a fisherman. He said Myanmarese citizens however have been fishing in the channel without any trouble since Thursday’s incident.
Amir Hamza, 45, who fled from the channel in the face of the attack, said Nasaka have been attacking Bangladeshi fishermen in a bid to establish control over the channel.
According to witnesses, the Bangladeshi nationals were wounded when Nasaka opened fired on their trawler in Batirdia channel around 9:00am, forcing all Bangladeshis to flee the area, abandoning more than 100 trawlers and nets.
The same day, Nasaka also entered into Bangladesh’s maritime territory through Sabrang border and looted Hilsa worth several lakhs of taka from a trawler, according to Bangladeshi fishermen. The Myanmarese border security force also beat up 13 fishermen of the trawler and threw them into the sea.
The fishermen were rescued by another Bangladeshi trawler in the afternoon. Five of them were seriously wounded, who are Mohammad, 50, Shafiq Ahmed, 39, Nurul Islam, 35, Abdur Razzak, 32, and Abul Foyez, 35. They were admitted to Teknak Upazila Health Complex.
Mohammad, who had been shot in the head, was later transferred to Chittagong Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated, said Dr Md Lokman of the health complex.
President of Teknaf Boat Owners Association Rashid Ahmed said Bangladeshi fishermen are not secured in the sea, and are not wiling to go fishing following frequent Nasaka attacks on them.
“We are unable to fish when Hilsas are found in great numbers in the channel,” he said adding that Nasaka have been patrolling the channel, so only Myanmarese fishermen may fish there without any trouble.
Rashid said two Bangladeshi fishermen were killed on April 8, when Nasaka opened fire on them.
Lt Monjur Ahmad, who is in charge of Bangladesh Coastguard in Teknaf, said they did not receive any written complaint about Thursday’s incident, but he heard that a few Bangladeshi fishermen had been wounded by Nasaka firing. It is not safe for the coastguard to patrol the area since Nasaka are firing shots there, he added.
Saint Martin Union Parishad Chairman Firoz Ahmed said Nasaka looted at least 10 trawlers in the area in the last four months.
“They have been attacking us frequently, firing at fishermen and beating them, and also looting their valuables. In many cases, they kidnap our fishermen and release them after taking ransoms,” he added.
Fish traders in Teknaf, Syedul Islam and Bashir Ahmed, said they could not supply Hilsa to Dhaka and Chittagong because fishing in Saint Martin’s channel had been suspended since Thursday’s Nasaka firing.

Courtesy of The Daily Star