Myanmar’s military regime continues to impose tight checks at checkpoints along the Yangon-Sittwe road, despite the ceasefire it reached with the Arakan Army (AA) more than three months ago.
Tight checks are causing delays to passenger buses running between Sittwe, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Myebon townships, and beyond to Yangon and Mandalay.
A Mrauk-U-Sittwe bus driver said: “When we come from Mrauk-U, they check at the checkpoint manned by the Military Operations Command in Kyauktaw. Passengers have to get off the bus and walk through the checkpoint. So do motorbike riders. It is a nuisance.”
At the Kyauktan security checkpoint in Sittwe, junta personnel also check the citizenship IDs of each passenger, causing additional delays.
“Passengers don’t have to get off the bus there. But they check the citizenship IDs and phones of passengers. It causes delays when there are many passengers,” said a bus driver who asked for anonymity.
Pharmaceutical deliveries are not permitted through the Pae Padone checkpoint in Ann Township unless there is prior approval from the junta’s security and border affairs minister for Arakan State. And there have been tighter checks on passengers, agreed Ann resident Ko Myo Lwin.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in a March 4 report said aid agencies are suffering from the checkpoint scrutiny.
“Delays and heavy scrutiny at checkpoints, although shortened from four to two hours during recent weeks in certain locations, are still hindering the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance. Obtaining travel authorization, which is a prerequisite to access affected areas across the state, is a long process and has faced delays due to the fluid situation,” said the report.
DMG calls to the Arakan State border and security affairs minister, Colonel Kyaw, for comment on the situation went unanswered.
The AA observed a humanitarian ceasefire with the Myanmar military on November 26, 2022. The regime promised to lift travel restrictions as part of that truce, AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha told a press conference on February 27.
