Wed Mar 19 11:02:23 UTC 2025: **Bangladesh Arrests Rohingya Insurgent Leader**
DHAKA, Bangladesh (March 19, 2025) – Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), has been arrested in Bangladesh, police announced Wednesday. Jununi, along with ten others, was apprehended during a Tuesday raid in Narayanganj district.
He faces charges of murder, illegal entry, sabotage, and militant activities. ARSA is blamed for launching violent attacks against Myanmar’s security forces in 2016, triggering a military crackdown that forced over 750,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Jununi is identified as the leader in several videos claiming responsibility for those attacks.
Bangladesh police allege that ARSA’s activities extend beyond insurgency, encompassing criminal activities such as killings, kidnappings, and smuggling within the Rohingya refugee camps, the world’s largest refugee settlement, housing over a million people. Internal conflicts within the camps, resulting in numerous deaths, are also attributed to ARSA. The group is further suspected of assassinating Mohib Ullah, a prominent Rohingya leader advocating for repatriation to Myanmar, in 2021. This murder significantly hampered peaceful resolution efforts for the Rohingya crisis.
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