4 Arsa men arrested with guns, grenades

Armed Police Battalion (APBn) arrested four members of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) with several firearms and grenades after a gunfight in the Ukhiya camp of Cox's Bazar early today.

Based on a tip-off, APBn-14 conducted a raid on a hill near Camp 20 extension and arrested them, reports our Cox's Bazar staff correspondent quoting Additional Deputy Inspector General (Addl DIG) Mohammad Iqbal, commanding officer (CO) of the battalion.

The arrestees are Amir Hossain, 29, Zaiur Rahman, 32, of Camp 17, and Syedul Amin, 28, of Camp 4, and Md Harun, 30, of Camp 7, said the CO at a press briefing this afternoon.

The arrestees are behind the recent killings in the camps and accused in the cases filed over those incidents, he said.

At least four Rohingyas were killed in mid May in the Ukhiya camps.

At the press briefing, Arefin Jewel, second-in-command of the battalion, said several teams of APBn police conducted raids after getting to know that some armed people gathered at a hill near the Rohingya Camp 20 (extension) of Ukhiya upazila early in the morning.

When they reached the spot, the criminals opened fire on the APBn members, triggering a gunfight. Later on, four of the criminals were arrested while others managed to flee, he said.

Later, according to the information provided by the arrestees, four hand grenades, seven locally-made guns, two walkie-talkies with chargers, nine bullets and sharp weapons were recovered, he added.

Legal procedures are underway, he added.