August 8, 2022
Members of the Arakan Liberation Party/Arakan Liberation Army (ALP/ALA) have shot dead one civilian and killed two others in Sittwe Township, Rakhine State, according to locals.
On August 7, ALA members arrested a man and a woman near their office in Mee Laung Kwin ward near Narzi village in Sittwe Township at around 11:15 a.m. and shot dead another woman, according to an eyewitness.
“They [ALA members] arrested a woman and a man near the ALP office. Another man was also chased but not caught. But I think he was shot in the leg,” said an eyewitness who did not want to be named.
The man shot by the ALA members was identified as Ko Thein San and is currently being treated at Aye Nyein Hospital, according to a resident of Narzi village.
“At the moment, he is receiving medical treatment at Aye Nyein Hospital. The members of ALP chased him and shot him in the leg. I heard that one of them was arrested,” he said.
The Narinjara news agency is still trying to clarify the identity of those arrested before publishing its report.
The incident occurred a few days after the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) arrested Lieutenant Colonel Khaing Paw Lin and Maung Soe Min Naing, an eighth-grade student, at his home around 6 p.m on August 6.
A statement issued by ALP on August 3 reads “The ALP/ALA considers the arrest of Lieutenant Colonel Khaing Paw Lin by the AA, which undermines Arakan national unity, as an incident that should never have taken place between Arakan resistance groups, thus degrading the dignity of Arakan people.”
“The ALP should solve the problem with a cool head. They are arresting and shooting civilians, which is not a good sign. If they really want national unity, they need to be patient and make sacrifices to build it,” said a politician from Sittwe who did not want to be named.
Following the arrest of Lt. Col. Khaing Paw Lin, ALP /ALA members in military council uniforms abducted four local residents along with troops from the junta’s 354th Light Infantry Battalion, reports Arakan Princess Media (APM).
When asked, the joint secretary of ALP, U Khaing Aung Soe, confirmed the arrest but denied their involvement. He said he wasn’t in a position to comment on the incident as the details of the incident weren’t yet known.
Sent by Khaing Lu Hla (Yoma Land)