Junta detains 10 civilians for breaching travel restrictions

By Admin 22 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
22 December 2023, Pauktaw

A junta warship arrested 10 people travelling from Sittwe town to Pauktaw Township by boat on Friday evening.

Those arrested were two boatmen from Set Yoe Kya ward in Sittwe, and the eight others including women were villagers from Pauktaw Township. They were arrested near Mount Wa Phee Chet at the entrance to Pauktaw town, according to relatives of the detainees.

“Boats carrying rice bags and other goods were also seized,” said a family member of one of the detainees.

It has been more than a month since the regime blockaded Pauktaw town amid heavy fighting, and residents in Pauktaw Township are facing food shortages.

“Our villages have run out of food, and some took risks to buy food from Sittwe. People are starving here. We have run out of rice, cooking oil, salt, and so on. The situation is worse as many people have been displaced,” said a shopkeeper from Pauktaw Township.

The detainees are currently being held at the No. 1 police station in Sittwe.

The regime also arrested 53 people, including porters and travelers, at BXT Port in Sittwe on December 17. Four were later released, but the 49 others have been remanded into custody.

“We have heard that the military imposes travel restrictions around here, but boatmen also have to eat, and they have to work. They are innocent and they should be released,” said a boatman from Sittwe town.

Boatmen in Sittwe rely on the BXT Port to earn a living. Since fighting between the military and Arakan Army (AA) resumed in November, the regime has made arbitrary arrests of civilians, demanding ransom and prosecuting them for their alleged ties to the AA.