The junta has strictly closed all entry and exit gates of Taungup Town in Arakan (Rakhine) State to public use.

The junta troops have banned public passage through Gyoegyarkwin Gate on Pyi Yoma-Taungup Road, Hpon Nyo Leik Gate on Taungup-Thandwe Road, University Gate on the Ma-Ei to Taungup route, and Taungup Town's dock, starting on August 20.

"This means that the junta has closed all entry and exit points of Taungup Town. We later found out that the junta troops had already warned everyone passing through the gates the previous day that they would be closed. Some people had their phones and other belongings confiscated. A soldier guarding the gate threatened us, saying we would be killed if we tried to enter the town from the next day," a Taungup resident who recently passed through one of the town's entry gates told Narinjara.

Locals said that in recent days, the junta troops have increased their presence at those gates.

A Taungup resident told Narinjara that junta troops arrested at least seven men who passed through the Gyoegyarkwin Gate this week.

"They went into town to do some shopping but were arrested by the soldiers. They have not been released yet”, he said.

One of the arrested individuals has been identified as 36-year-old Ko Chit Oo, a resident of Mhin Than Village in Taungup Township, while Narinjara is still investigating the identities of the others.

In Taungup Town, junta troops are intensifying security operations and patrolling around the clock, causing anxiety among residents.

Since the first week of August, frequent artillery shelling from the junta's bases in Taungup has heightened residents' concerns.

Furthermore, during the second week of August, junta warplanes conducted bombing strikes on several villages in Taungup Township for three days, leading to damage to some houses.