Junta arrests two brothers in Mrauk-U

By DMG 25 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
25 September 2022, Mrauk-U

The Myanmar military reportedly detained Ko Than Tun, chairman of Nang Yeik Garuna Oxygen Association and his elder brother Ko Kyaw Than Naing from Arakan State’s Mrauk-U town at around 9 a.m. on September 25.

The two brothers run electronics stores named “Kyaw” in Kanhla and Taungyat wards. They were taken from their shop by junta soldiers on Sunday morning, said locals.

“The two brothers were abducted from their shop in Kanhla Ward,” said people from nearby shops. “The reason for the arrest is still unknown,” said a member of the association.

Ko Than Tun lives in Wah Zay Ward and the ward administrator didn’t know the details of the military’s detention of the two brothers because he was visiting another township. Ko Than Tun is said to be a social activist.

“They [the two brothers] used to sleep at the shops. Ko Than Tun was handcuffed and taken away while he was in the shop. His brother was arrested near Kanhla Bridge while he was returning home to take a rice carrier. Family members are going to a military regiment to enquire about them,” said a family member of Ko Than Tun.

DMG phoned Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura and Major-General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the regime, to seek comment on the military’s detention of the two brothers in Mrauk-U, but they could not be reached.

Ko Yin Sot aka Kyaw Zan Wai, a resident of Mrauk-U, was arrested at his home on September 4 on suspicion of having ties to the Committe Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and National Unity Government (NUG).