Junta security forces have stepped up inspections on passenger and cargo trucks at Kyauktan checkpoint, located on the Yangon-Sittwe highway in Sittwe Township.

The checkpoint is Sittwe’s overland gateway to other parts of the country. Tightened security checks on vehicles have been a hassle, according to travellers and local residents.

“When I went to Ponnagyun this morning, they were carrying out checks on all the motorbikes, passenger and cargo vehicles. They checked the contents of my phone as well as my bag and the trunk of my motorbike,” said a local who did not want to be named.

Stepped up inspections were also reported at the checkpoint during fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army in 2019 and 2020. The latest increase in Kyauktan checkpoint scrutiny has been a recent development, with locals saying there had been little disruption to travel for more than a year, coinciding with a cessation of hostilities toward the end of 2020.

Security personnel did not clarify the reason for the inspections, said Sittwe-Kyauktaw passenger bus driver Ko Than Htay. Security forces questioned passengers and checked cargo aboard his bus, he added.

“Yesterday, I saw them checking a private car with a sniffer dog. And vehicles that were carrying a large number of bundles on their roofs were also checked. There have been increased security checks for a couple of days,” he told DMG.

Cargo truck drivers said they have faced delays due to the tightened security checks despite them having all the required travel documents.

“Security checks did not take long previously. It took less than three hours [to pass through the checkpoint] previously,” said cargo truck driver Ko Aung Naing Win.

He added that since security was tightened, “Some cargo vessels have had to stay overnight at the checkpoint. And I had to spend the whole day at the checkpoint. I am driving to Mrauk-U, which is a one-day drive from Sittwe, and I now have to spend one more day on the road.”

When DMG asked about the situation, Sittwe Township administrator U Kyaw Lwin said: “Sittwe is the seat of Arakan State [government] and both state- and district-level authorities are taking security measures. You have to ask the state-level authorities.”

Arakan State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Kyaw Thura did not answer DMG’s phone call. Certain cargo from other parts of the country can only be transported into Arakan State with the approval of the security and border affairs minister, according to cargo truck drivers and businesspeople.