Some young women escaping to the mainland to flee the fighting in Arakan State have been have been subjected to sexual assaults at military council checkpoints, according to the victims.
A victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said that women were subjected to assault inspections by junta soldiers at checkpoints while fleeing townships in Arakan State to escape the life-threatening conditions caused by ongoing fighting.
“The case happened in December. First, junta soldiers checked young women by lifting their shirts at the checkpoint at the exit of Gwa. They conducted excessive searches, accusing that female soldiers of the AA have tattoos on their chests. They inspected and searched their entire bodies, from the knees to the calves and ankles,” the young woman said.
A displaced woman from Ann, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that in the last week of November, two displaced teenage girls from Ann Township were raped by junta soldiers at the Myinkan checkpoint, who claimed they needed to check their mobile phones.
“They left Ann for Minbu and were arrested at the Myinkan checkpoint halfway there. The detainees were sent to Myinkan monastery. In the evening, two junta soldiers took a 16-year-old woman and a 25-year-old woman from the monastery, claiming their phones needed to be checked. The two young women were returned to the monastery late at night,” she said.
The displaced young woman from Ann said that the military council had threatened to kill the young women who were assaulted like this if news of the incident were revealed.
On 6 December, junta soldiers arrested and killed a young woman from Kan Htaung Gyi in Myebon Township, Arakan State, at a checkpoint. They accused her of having alleged ties to the AA while she was on her way to Muse in Muse District, northern Shan State, for work.
Sent by Narinjara