The skeletal remains of three women from Ohntaw Village in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan (Rakhine) State, who went missing after being detained by junta troops have been discovered. Their remains were located at the edge of a forest near the junta’s Police Battalion 32 base.
The women disappeared in early October 2025 while heading to their plantation near a forested area locally known as Kyaukphyu Mountain. Their skeletons were recovered on January 2, more than three months after their disappearance, buried in a pit.
The deceased have been identified as Daw Hla Thein Shwe (55), her daughter Daw Aye Aye Thein (31) and her niece Ma Pyae Sone Win (13), all from Ohntaw Village.
Locals said the three were part of a group of five traveling to the plantation, which included two other women from the same village. The group was intercepted by junta troops; two returned to the village, while the remaining three attempted an alternative route to the plantation, were arrested, and never returned.
"The junta soldiers stationed near the plantation stopped them from going further. The two women with them turned back, but the three who owned the plantation tried another route and then disappeared," a local woman said.
Villagers later confirmed that the skeletons found belonged to the three missing women.
"They were buried together. We still don’t know exactly how they were killed," a local man said.
Ohntaw Village is under the control of the coup military regime, with multiple bases including Police Battalion 32 located in the surrounding areas, such as Kyaukphyu Mountain and Ohntaw Mountain.
"It would take more than one person to kill three people. The whole area is under junta control, but still, villagers risk going into the forests to gather crops just to survive," another Kyaukphyu Township resident said.
The junta has imposed strict road blockages in Kyaukphyu Township, leaving many residents struggling to make ends meet. Some villagers have been forced to venture into forested areas to search for food and fish, locals said.
Data compiled by DMG shows that from February 20, 2025, when fighting broke out in Kyaukphyu, through early January 2026, at least 16 women were killed and at least 26 others injured by the military regime’s artillery strikes, small-arms fire, and air raids.
Amid the ongoing conflict in Arakan State, women face not only sexual violence but also life-threatening attacks from artillery shelling and airstrikes. Local and international women’s groups have warned that assistance remains insufficient.
Fighting continues to intensify in Kyaukphyu Township between the junta and the Arakan Army (AA). The junta controls areas near Kyaukphyu City, the township’s administrative seat, while the AA maintains control over most villages and rural areas.
