The junta has stepped up arrests in Muslim villages in Sittwe Township, Arakan (Rakhine) State, detaining dozens of residents including village administrators and 100-house-group elders over alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA), locals reported.
Since January, coup regime authorities have aggressively targeted members of village administrations and well-off residents from Muslim communities west of Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State. The number of detainees has reached at least 50, residents said.
“The junta accused people of being in contact with or supporting the AA. But there’s no AA presence in Sittwe as the city area is fully controlled by the junta. The people it has taken have no links to the AA at all,” said a young Muslim man from Sittwe Township.
Residents said fear is spreading through the communities, particularly amid reports that the junta is recruiting informants inside Muslim villages.
Arrests were carried out on multiple dates in February. On February 6 and 8, junta authorities detained 30 people, including Shaubi, head of the Bumay Village administration, along with officials and residents from Sittwe Township villages of Thaechaung, Darpai, Latthamar and Sarmanyar, over alleged AA connections.
A few days later, on February 10, another 11 individuals were arrested. Those detained included 100-house-group elders from Thaechaung and Thantawli villages, as well as residents of Thantawli Village, again on accusations of links to the AA.
The crackdown began earlier in January, when an official from Palinpyin Village administration and 5 residents from Pwayyarkone Village were also taken into custody.
“No one has been released yet. Some families are too scared to stay in their homes and have started leaving the villages. We’ve heard that charges may have been filed against certain detainees, but nobody knows what laws they’re being charged under,” another Muslim man in Sittwe told DMG.
According to locals, personnel from the Office of the Chief of Military Security (OCMS) and Police Battalion 36, based in Sittwe Township, carried out the arrests.
Security has since tightened across Muslim villages in Sittwe Township, with residents reporting threats and extortion by junta troops when traveling into Sittwe City.
While Sittwe remains under firm junta control, clashes between the regime forces and the AA troops have frequently occur within the township, leading junta authorities to impose heightened security measures around the city.
