In a major operation to root out the insurgency, the Bangladesh authorities apprehended the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi and 10 others during a raid conducted on Tuesday (March 18, 2025) in Narayanganj district adjacent to Dhaka.
Police confirmed the arrests on Wednesday, accusing Ataullah with murder, illegal entry, sabotage, militant activities. This is a major triumph by Bangladesh’s law enforcement against armed groups operating within Rohingya refugee camps.
Ataullah, which is a leading personality of Rohingya insurgency, had led ARSA’s violent resistance against Myanmar’s security forces in 2016, an International Crisis Group report states. His leadership prompted a number of cross-border attacks leading to a military crackdown in Myanmar that led over 750,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh in 2017. 
Armed groups claim the ARSA influence goes beyond insurgency with the authorities accusing its own members of financial crimes such as killings, kidnapping and smuggling within the camps of the gigantic population of refugee. With clashes rising between Al Qaeda affiliates and other groups, and crossfire increasing, the camps hosting more than a million Rohingya are no longer tranquil.
The group is believed to have implemented the 2021 assassination of prominent Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah, a proponent for the involuntary repatriation of refugees. His killing was widely seen as heightening fears about the growing strength within the camps of militant groups.
The arrests demonstrate Bangladesh’s commitment to tackling transnational crime and networks of insurgents that imperil the security and stability of the region.
