The military council arrested three displaced people and three underage boys in Sittwe after clashes broke out between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar Army in Arakan State on the morning of 13 November, according to locals.
Those arrested are U Ba Hlaing, Ko Kyaw Naing Htay and U Kyaw Than Maung from Ngasayinchaung Monastery IDP camp in Ywartharyar, Sittwe Township, as well as Ko San Nay Lin (17 years old), Ko Maung Thein Soe (14 years old) and Ko Kaung Myat (17 years old).
Locals report that junta soldiers arrested the three IDPs at the IDP camp at around 4:30pm on 13 November.
“They are displaced people. We don’t know why they were arrested. They were taken away in a big military vehicle,” said a local resident.
After arresting Ko San Nay Lin and Ko Maung Thein Soe from the monastery’s IDP camp in Ywartharyar village, junta soldiers also arrested Ko Kaung Myat, who was playing a mobile game at a nearby tea shop, residents said.
Residents said three of the six arrested – Ko Kyaw Naing Htay, Ko Nay San Lin and Ko Maung Thein Soe – are minors and should not be illegally detained. In a similar case, the regime also arrested six Kyaukphyu residents, including a ward administrator, according to locals.
Those arrested are U Than Hlaing, the administrator of Zedi Taung Ward, Singer Nagar from West Ward, U Ba Kyi (65 years old) from Thin Pan Chaung Ward and Ko William, an owner of a building materials store.
According to a local resident, they were arrested by a joint force of junta police and soldiers in the afternoon and evening of 13 November.
“A joint force of policemen and soldiers came in military vehicles and arrested them. Everyone who was on board was wearing masks,” he said.
Locals say they do not currently know in which battalion or police station the four detainees are being held.
When the AA began capturing camps in northern Arakan State on 13 November, the military council stepped up security in Kyaukphyu, Ramree, Thandwe and Taungoke, according to locals.
Sent by Narinjara.
