Bangladesh arrests ARSA leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi for murder, sabotage, and insurgent attacks, linking him to Myanmar violence and crimes in refugee camps.

Bangladeshi authorities have arrested Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), for his alleged involvement in attacks against Myanmar security forces, along with charges of murder and sabotage. The 48-year-old insurgent leader was apprehended near Dhaka, district police chief Praytush Kumar Majumder confirmed on Tuesday.

Jununi and five of his associates were taken into custody by the elite Rapid Action Battalion, while four more were arrested in Mymensingh district, police said. Initially held for questioning, a district court later approved a 10-day remand for custodial interrogation over charges of murder, sabotage, and illegal entry into Bangladesh, according to police inspector Kaiyum Khan.

ARSA, which Jununi has led in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State since 2016, was formed to resist the persecution of the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority. Under his leadership in 2017, the group was accused of launching deadly attacks on security posts in Rakhine, triggering a military crackdown that forced more than 750,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.

Jununi, believed to have orchestrated the 2017 attacks, gained international attention through online videos where he appeared with masked gunmen, vowing to liberate the Rohingya from "dehumanized oppression." He is also accused of involvement in the murder of a Bangladeshi military intelligence officer.

Additionally, ARSA has been linked to cross-border criminal activities, including drug smuggling, kidnappings, abductions, extortion, and torture within Bangladeshi refugee camps. Authorities continue to investigate the group’s activities and Jununi’s role in these offenses.