Eight people have been detained and interrogated by police in Ponnagyun town for allegedly having ties to the Arakan Army, the Myanmar Military announced.

Acting on a tip that a vehicle carrying suspicions people was heading to Ponnagyun town, police stopped and detained them on 27 July, the Tatmadaw said in its statement.

The vehicle was driven by U Tun Myint, who is working for a transportation company that works between Rathedaung and Ponnagyun townships. Eight out of the ten young people were recruited for the Arakan Army and they were from Pauktaw (Palaung) village in Kyauktaw Township, the Tatmadaw said.

Two of the detainees are teenagers, according to family members. Maung Thein Than Oo, 14, and Maung Nay Lin Tun, 18, from Pyar Bin Yin village in Rathedaung Township were also arrested in the raid, their family members said, but the Tatmadaw’s statement did not include their names and photos.

“My son is not affiliated with the AA. He is a student in Grade-11. He is studying in a private tuition school in the village. We are concerned about his welfare, I want my son to be released,” said U Maung Khin Mya, father of Maung Nay Lin Tun.

The AA attacked three Navy vessels in Rathedaung Township on 20 July and the Myanmar military retaliated by firing heavy weapons into nearby villages. So, local residents fled to other villages. Since then, the two teenagers have lost contact with their family because they fled to different villages. Their fathers have known about their detention when police notified them, U Maung Khin Mya said.