ALP recruiting among those in Sittwe trapped by conflict

By Admin 13 Apr 2024

DMG Newsroom
April 13 2024, Sittwe

The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) is attempting to persuade civilians trapped in the Arakan State capital Sittwe to join it, according to residents.

The ALP, which is allied to the military regime, has its head office in Sittwe’s Setyonesu Ward. The ethnic armed group is persuading men from Setyonesu, Setyoekya, Narzi, Kyetaw and Danyawaddy wards to join it by offering incentives including authority and monthly allowances.

“They said they would give authority and some monthly allowances to those who join their group. As everyone is having a hard time today, some impoverished people have joined it,” said a resident of Setyonesu Ward.

The ALP is said to be mainly targeting low-income men aged 18 and older.

Sittwe residents have accused the ALP of collaborating with the regime. ALP troops have joined junta soldiers in checking households for overnight guests and extorting money from civilians at checkpoints and ports, residents allege.

A Sittwe woman who asked for anonymity said: “They came and searched our house for no valid reason. They turned the wardrobe and boxes inside out. They didn’t say what they were looking for. They asked me where my husband was. They also asked similar questions in other houses.”

DMG’s calls to the ALP faction led by Saw Mra Razar Lin went unanswered.

The ALP and its armed wing, the Arakan Liberation Army, is a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and is engaged in peace talks with the regime.

The ALP is taking advantage of the fighting in Arakan State to expand its own reach, said an analyst of Arakan State.

“The AA [Arakan Army] has seized the entire northern Arakan State. The ALP has been increasingly confined as a result. It is mainly based in Sittwe, and it will lose its last fortress once the town is seized by the AA. So, it is collaborating with the regime to expand itself,” said the analyst.

The AA has seized eight townships in Arakan State and Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State since launching an offensive against the regime in November of last year. AA chief Major-General Twan Mrat Naing has urged residents to evacuate their homes in Sittwe and Kyaukphyu.

However, residents are finding it difficult to flee from those towns as the regime has tightened blockade measures. It has planted landmines and naval mines, and also deployed warships around Sittwe, the seat of the junta’s Arakan State administration.