Junta soldiers arrested five members of the Paing Shin Mae (PSM) Social Aid Group, including its chairperson, in Thanbyuzayat Town, Mon State on 18 September 2024.
At about 9:00 pm on 18 September, about 20 junta soldiers entered the PSM office in Thanbyuzayat Town and made the arrests.
Those arrested include PSM chairperson U Ye Min Htike, members Ko Ye Naing Oo, Ko Zaw One, and two others.
A source close to PSM told Than Lwin Times that the reasons for the arrests remain unknown and are still being investigated.
The five arrested individuals are currently being interrogated at Military Advanced Training Depot No. 4 (MATD-4) in Weakali Village, Thanbyuzayat Township. They have not been allowed. to contact their families who are all extremely worried due to the lack of information about them and reasons for their arrests.
The PSM Social Aid Group was registered with the Mon State government in 2018 and operates primarily to get injured and emergency patients in the region to hospitals.
On 29 May 2024 junta soldiers arrested the chairman and four members of the Lamaing Social Aid Group in Ye Township, Mon State. They were released a week later.
Since the coup, the junta has occasionally raided social aid groups in Mon State and interrogated their members. Among those targeted, two young aid workers from Thanbyuzayat and Mudon townships in Mon State, were sentenced to prison terms.
