Staff Reporter :
The joint forces arrested a top leader of Myanmar insurgent group ‘Arakan Army’ from Islampur under Rajasthali upazila in hilly district of Rangamati in the early hours of Wednesday.
The arrested person was identified as Dr Reneen Sowe. He was an accused of two cases filed with Rajasthali Police Station.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of army, police and Border Guard Bangladesh [BGB] members conducted a drive in the area and arrested Reneen Sowe around 3:00am from an under-construction mosque.
“The Arakan Army leader was arrested from Nutan Bazar area of Rajasthali. A case has been filed against him under anti-terrorism act. He has been kept in the Rajasthali Police Station,” Additional Superintendent of Police Nazmul Hasan said.
Officials said, Reneen Sowe, a physician, was conducting operation for the Arakan army staying in Rangamati after his return from the Netherlands recently. He had been residing in the Netherlands for a long time.
The joint forces also seized a camera, a laptop, some propaganda materials and a Dutch passport from his possession.
On August 26, the joint forces raided the house of Reneen Sowe at Taitong College Para in Rajasthali upazila headquarters and arrested an Arakan Army member, who was close associate of Reneen Sowe.
They also seized Arakan Army’s uniform, a laptop, digital camera and horses from there.
Later, two people, including the caretaker of the house, were also detained. All of them are now in Rangamati jail. Dr Reneen Sowe was absconding since then.
OC of Rajsathali Police Station Ohid Ullah said that Reneen Sowe was sent to the district court on Wednesday seeking a 10-day remand. The Magistrate of the judicial court, Sabrina Alam, however, granted five-day police remand for his interrogation.
Earlier on August 26, the joint force of Bangladesh Army and BGB flashed out the guerilla operatives of Arakan Army and forced them to cross the border by demolishing their base camps in the country’s southeastern hilly district of Bandarban.
The joint force operation was prompted after two members of BGB were injured following an ambush attack by separatist guerillas of Myanmar’s banned outfit Arakan Army near the international border in Barha Modak area under Thanchi Upazila on the day.
The attackers choose the time for ambush when a 10-member patrol team of BGB was crossing another 10-member patrol of the army in the area.
Being informed, two military choppers, one MI-17 and another Bell, carrying additional troopers of BGB along with a commando unit of army under 24 Infantry Division rushed to the spot to backup the trapped BGB men.
Officials said the reason behind the gun attack was linked with a BGB operation where they detained 14 foreign horses, which were imported by the Arakan Army for their use in transporting men and goods. The attack was conducted for taking revenge, they said.
The Arakan Army is an Arakanese Buddhist rebel organization formed on April 10, 2009. Their organization was fighting in the Kachin Conflict alongside the Kachin Independence Army against the Myanmar Armed Forces. The group is based in the western Myanmar state of Arakan.
Twan Mrat Naing is currently the Chief-in-Command of Arakan Army. Nyo Twan Awng, the organization’s Second-in-Command. The organization’s purpose is “to protect Arakan people, and to establish there peace, justice, freedom and development.”
