The junta has increased its scrutiny of displaced people (IDPs) from Arakan (Rakhine) State who have fled fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and junta and sought shelter in Ayeyarwady Region.
The scrutiny of IDPS from Rakhine arriving in Ayeyarwady Region has intensified since clashes erupted on 10 August 2024 in Gwa Township, at the southern tip of Rakhine State on the border with Ayeyarwady Region.
The junta has increased overnight guest list checks of Ayeyarwady Region households. Any IDPs from Rakhine State staying in Ayeyarwady Region households as guests have to provide their household registration documents and pictures of all family members currently staying at the household.
Recently, the authorities have started insisting that any Ayeyarwady Region residents hosting Rakhine State IDPs must also provide guarantees for their guests. They have to guarantee that any Rakhine State IDPs they host will behave as the junta want them to. If they do not, the guarantors face arrest.
A displaced person from Rakhine State who had arrived in Yegyi Township, Ayeyarwady Region, just across the state border from Rakhine State said: "The scrutiny of displaced persons in Ayeyarwady Region has become quite strict since the clashes broke out in Gwa Township. In some cases, house owners must provide a personal guarantee for the status of the displaced individuals.”
Previously, the junta and local administrators only conducted guest list checks during the evening in Ayeyarwady Region townships. However, it has been reported that they are now also carrying out guest list checks during the day.
Because of recent fighting in Rakhine State thousands of residents from Thandwe and Gwa townships have been forced to leave their houses and are now seeking refuge in Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Yangon Regions.
A community activist from Thandwe Township said: "The main concern is that the junta is quite worried about the possibility of the AA forces reaching the Ayeyarwady Region, and as a result, they are significantly ramping up their military presence in preparation.”
On 9 August, the junta arrested 33 IDPs from Thandwe Township for failing to register on the guest lists of the households where they were staying, after arriving in Ayeyarwady’s Kyonpyaw Township.
Currently, the AA controls Thandwe and Ngapali towns in Thandwe Township, and Kyeintali Town in Gwa Township. Fighting between the junta and the AA is ongoing at the junta’s Maung Shwe Lay naval base in Thandwe Township and in Gwa Township.
