Tatmadaw checks houses after unidentified group abducts village official in Taungup Twsp

By DMG 05 Aug 2021

DMG Newsroom
5 August 2021, Taungup

The Tatmadaw conducted checks on some houses in Gyogar Kwin village, part of Arakan State’s Taungup Township, after an unidentified group abducted a village official.

Ko Zaw Min Hlaing, the village official, was abducted on August 3 and has not been released since, villagers said.

The Tatmadaw entered the village on August 5 and checked some houses, said a villager who did not want to reveal his name.

“They raided five houses. The team included members of the military forces and the village head. They checked the household member list. They did not visit all the houses in the village,” the villager said.

Another villager said military personnel remained in the village as of 4 p.m., checking paperwork at several houses.

“About 10 members of the military forces entered the village and checked whether households had the Form-10 and household member list. If a house can’t show the documents, they are warned to obtain the documents at the village office,” the villager said.

“Four vehicles are waiting outside the village. Villagers are worried about their security,” he added.

DMG’s attempts to seek comment from the chair of the Taungup Township Administration Council about the situation in the village were unsuccessful.