Junta tightens security checks on Arakan IDPs in Ayeyarwady Region

By Admin 24 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
24 August 2024, Yekyi, Ayeyarwady Region

The regime has reportedly tightened security checks on residents of Arakan State who were displaced by fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) and are currently taking refuge in Ayeyarwady Region.

Junta authorities regularly look for unregistered overnight guests, check household registration certificates, ask for photos of Arakanese IDPs, and conduct checks on owners of homes that accommodate the IDPs.

The junta's tight security checks on Arakanese IDPs in Ayeyarwady Region followed after the fighting began in Gwa Township on August 10.

"The regime conducted tight security checks on Arakanese IDPs in Ayeyarwady Region after the fighting began in Gwa Township on August 10. The owners of homes that accommodate the Arakanese IDPs pledged to the regime that their homes be rented to the IDPs," said an Arakanese IDP in Yekyi Township.

The regime has beefed up security and tightened checks in Ayeyarwady Region following recent clashes in Gwa Township, which borders Ayeyarwady. Junta soldiers and ward and village administrators conducted overnight guest checks in townships in Ayeyarwady Region in the past, but now they conduct overnight guest checks in day time.

More than 100,000 residents from Thandwe and Gwa townships have reportedly fled to Ayeyarwady Region and other parts of the country such as Bago and Yangon.

"The regime is afraid that the AA's offensive will spread to Ayeyarwady Region. The regime is worried that AA troops will arrive in Ayeyarwady Region, so the junta troops are on alert," said a social activist in Thandwe.

Myanmar's military regime arrested more than 30 internally displaced people (IDPs) from Arakan State's Thandwe Township who were taking shelter in Kyonpyaw Township, Ayeyarwady Region, on August 9.

The AA has seized control of Thandwe, Ngapali, and Kyeintali town in Gwa Township and clashes are reported at the Maung Shwe Lay naval base in Thandwe and Gwa townships.