Six Buthidaung Twsp villagers remain under military detention

By DMG 03 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
3 October 2022, Buthidaung

Six residents of Thabeik Taung Village in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township were detained by Myanmar military personnel on September 24, and family members are concerned about the fate of the detainees, who have since been held incommunicado.

The six detainees are Ko Nyunt Win, 35; Ko Shwe Tun, 36; Ko Maung Myint Win, 37; Maung Tun Tha Hla, 20; Maung Than Tun Aung, 16; and Ko Maung Phyu, 37. They were reportedly tied up and taken from the village monastery on September 24 to a local border guard police battalion near Kin Chaung Village before being transferred to Light Infantry Battalion No. 263, according to family members.

“We went to Light Infantry Battalion 263 yesterday, but soldiers there said they are not being detained there. We want to know their whereabouts,” said Ma Khin Soe Than, the wife of Ko Nyunt Win.

Two of the detainees — Maung Tun Tha Hla and Maung Than Tun Aung — are brothers, and Maung Tun Tha Hla has mental problems, according to their father, U Tha Tun Tin.

“It has been around 10 days since my two sons were detained. I have not yet been able to contact them. My wife is almost going crazy because of their detention. They are innocent,” he said.

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Arakan State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Kyaw Thura.

Some 300 villagers fled to nearby villages and Buthidaung town following a shelling on September 23 by junta troops. The Myanmar military subsequently detained villagers hiding at the village monastery, and many local residents still dare not return to their homes as junta soldiers remain in the village.

Arrests of residents on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) have been on the rise in Arakan State and Chin State’s Paletwa Township amid fresh armed conflict between the two sides.

The regime has detained scores of people since June, and more than 60 remain under detention.