Junta conscripts 500 Muslims in Sittwe

By Admin 23 Apr 2024

DMG Newsroom
23 April 2024, Sittwe

Myanmar’s military regime on Sunday conscripted 500 Muslims from Muslim villages in Arakan State’s Sittwe Township including Bumay, Thaechaung, Barsar, Darpaing and Thakkalpyin, according to local residents.

The Muslim men did not flee to avoid conscription for fear that their family members would be tortured by the regime, said a young Muslim man from Thaechaung Village.

“There were cases in which the regime arrested and tortured the parents of sons who evaded conscription. If a son flees, the regime conscripts a family member on his behalf,” he said.

Earlier this month, the junta-appointed Arakan State chief minister and Sittwe Township administrators summoned administrators of Muslim villages and managers of displacement camps to a meeting where they were ordered to provide 1,000 conscripts.

“So far, 500 Muslims have been taken from villages for military training. They [junta officials] said [displacement] camps must give another 500,” said a Muslim from Bumay Village.

The Muslim conscripts were taken to the Sittwe Regional Operations Command to undergo 14 days of military training.

The regime enforced a national conscription law on February 10, as it has been severely depleted by casualties in daily clashes with resistance forces at multiple fronts.

Since then, the regime has forcibly recruited more than 1,000 Muslims in Sittwe. Many were sent straight to the front line after two weeks of basic military training. Some were killed in subsequent fighting. Some were assigned to provide security in villages.

The regime has orchestrated Muslim protests against the Arakkha Army (AA) in Sittwe and Buthidaung towns in an attempt to create racial conflicts in Arakan State.

AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha has accused the regime of instigating racial hatred between Arakanese and Muslim communities to disrupt the AA’s offensive momentum, which has seen the regime losing eight townships in Arakan State over the past five months.

Junta spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun has denied creating racial conflicts in Arakan State, and put the blame back on the AA.