Hsan Win Tun's sister said: "On Friday noon, three army personnel in plainclothes first entered into the Sittwe Market.  Later three more army personnel in uniforms arrived there and detained Hsan Win Tun and Kyaw Soe Moe. Both of them were blind-folded and then brought to an army vehicle that took them away.”

The army officials gave the families no reason for the men's arrest, both of whom are in their thirties and work in the fish market at Sittwe.

The families believe that the men were arrested on suspicion of being connected to the recent fighting between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army.

Kyaw Soe Moe's sister said they did not protest when the men were arrested because the army personnel had their guns out. She said that there were no civilian administrators or police personnel present at the time of the arrest and the army personnel had not given them any official letters.

Narinjara telephoned Sittwe Police Station for more details, but nobody was willing to give them any further details.

Previously, on 21 January, three other Arakanese men were detained by the army for suspected links with the Arakan Army. One of the three, Ko Maung Aye, is a prominent social worker from Laik Khamaw Village. His family members said that the army had also not given them any information as to what had happened to him.

Edited by Mark Inkey for BNI