Over 100 Indigenous people arbitrarily arrested

In April over 100 members of the Bawm indigenous community were arrested in the Chittagong Hills Area by the Bangladesh Army. The arrested included pregnant women, lactating mother, students, teachers, government and NGO employees, and leaders from the Bawm community.

Four young students and a boy of 11 years have been killed by the military.

The Bawm indigenous community, with a total population of around 10,000 individuals, are one of the oldest indigenous groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The indiscriminate arrests and collective punishment of the entire Bawm community were a reaction to the actions of a few Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) members. However, many reports by local people say that the KNF's activities were staged to justify the increased presence of security forces in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

There have been allegations that the creation of KNF is part of a 'divide and rule' policy to maintain unrest in CHT by a vested interest group. Local people believe that the KNF was created by the security forces as a way of justifying their actions against the Bawm community and land grabbing. Due to this ongoing persecution, the Bawm people are now refugees in their own ancestral land. A significant number have been forced to flee their homes and they are living in constant fear for their lives.

Approximately 137 Bawm villages are currently under threat, requiring urgent protection to ensure their safety and security.