The Arakan Army detained three policemen from Kyauktaw Myoma police station at about 6 p.m. on Monday, according to locals.
The three policemen were arrested while going to a liquor shop west of a football pitch in Myothit Ward, a local told DMG, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“They were abducted when they went to a liquor shop near the police station. Some eyewitnesses said they were not forcibly taken away by AA members,” the unnamed resident added.
The Arakan Army has made frequent arrests of junta police and soldiers in recent days. AA spokesman U Khaung Thukha told DMG that the ethnic armed group has detained junta soldiers in retaliation for the regime’s arrest of AA members.
“The three policemen were reportedly out drinking at a restaurant near the police station,” said another resident of Kyauktaw. “I don’t know exactly how they were arrested; on the way or at the liquor shop.”
At a press conference on June 14, U Khaing Thukha said the Arakan Army was open to the possibility of arranging a prisoner exchange with the military regime.
Kyauktaw locals said they heard about five gunshots near an entrance to downtown on Monday night, and police and military personnel were reportedly raiding homes near the bar following the detention of the three policemen.
“We do not want civilians to be involved in armed clashes,” said a Kyauktaw resident who did not want to be named for security reasons.
The Arakan Army detained two junta soldiers in Kyauktaw on June 11, a junta soldier in Ponnagyun Township on June 16 and a police sergeant in Mrauk-U’s Tin Nyo village on June 17.
After two years of often-intense fighting, Myanmar’s military and the AA entered into an unofficial ceasefire arrangement in November 2020. But the Arakan Army has warned that renewed clashes could take place at any time in Arakan State amid rising military tensions with the regime.
The Myanmar regime’s second in command, Vice Senior General Soe Win, this month called on his troops in Arakan State to be ready to fight, as the AA spokesman on June 14 accused the junta of preparing to wage a full-scale war.
