The trickling sound of the Naf River, which separates Bangladesh from Myanmar, echoes through the verdant lanes leading to Mohammad Siddiqui's hut. Just opposite his quarters in the Bangladeshi border town of Teknaf, the mountains of Rakhine state in Myanmar are visible.

Siddiqui earns his livelihood as a fisherman in the river. "I head out to fish on my wooden boat at around 7 a.m. and come back home around 1 p.m.," the 24-year-old told DW.

"I love it and earn between 500-600 taka ($4-$5) a month, which helps me tend to the needs of my family of eight people, including two children," he added.

However, fishing in the Naf has now become dangerous, with the Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group in Myanmar, operating in the region. In May, a group of AA fighters abducted Siddiqui and two other fishermen.

"In early May, I went to the Naf River as I always have and hauled my fishing nets into the water. I was with two other fishermen. Suddenly, we saw the AA coming by their engine-powered boat towards us, and they fired around 20 bullets at us," he said.

"They had a person on their boat who spoke to me in our local language, Bengali, put a gun to my head, and asked me why we crossed into their territory. But we had not crossed Bangladesh's maritime border," Siddiqui said.

He described how the AA handcuffed them, tied their legs, put them on their boat and took them to Rakhine state, where they were imprisoned.

"During our imprisonment, some AA members would also get drunk on wine and come and beat us," Siddiqui recalled.

After two days, the Border Guard Bangladesh helped rescue the three fishermen following a call with the AA, and they returned to Teknaf.

"The entire incident shook me. I am suddenly scared to fish. During the time I was kidnapped, my wife cried a lot. Fishing is our source of livelihood and if I was killed, my family would struggle," Siddiqui said.

The AA, one of Myanmar's most powerful ethnic armed groups, has

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