Amnesty International yesterday called upon the government to put an end to the crackdown against Bawm community and immediately release the civilians arrested in connection with the robberies at two banks allegedly by armed group Kuki-Chin National Front.

The human rights watchdog made the call in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

It expressed concern that the indigenous Bawm people are at serious risk of suffering collective punishment as the authorities assumed that the entire Bawm community are either part of or are supporters of the Kuki Chin National Front (KNF).

Over 11,000 Bawm people living in Bangladesh are currently passing days in fear of arrests, starvation, and lack of access to education and employment, the letter said.

Since April 7, more than 100 Bawm people have been arbitrarily arrested in military operation in villages across the Chittagong Hill Tracts region following the alleged robberies by KNF men, it also said.

Amnesty demanded that the government provide adequate legal representation for all arbitrarily arrested individuals and allow their relatives to visit them freely, without fear of being arrested.