Military arrests three men including village administrator in Maungdaw Twsp

By DMG 20 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
20 July 2022, Maungdaw

A combined contingent of Myanmar military troops and Border Guard Force personnel detained an administrator and two other men from Kyeinchaung village in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township early Wednesday morning, according to family members.

The trio have been identified as U Phone Ko Naing aka Ko Ko Aung, the administrator of Kyeinchaung village, Ko Tun Chay, and Ko Tun Kyaing aka Ahtar. They were taken from their homes by several junta soldiers at about 4 a.m. on Wednesday, a family member of Ko Phone Ko Naing told DMG.

“He was taken from home while he was sleeping. He was reportedly detained by the Myanmar military and BGF for questioning. He is an administrator and earns a living as a grocery owner,” said a family member of Ko Phone Ko Naing.

The Arakan Army captured 14 junta soldiers and police personnel after the ethnic armed group clashed with the Myanmar military in Maungdaw Township on July 18, the AA said in a statement on Tuesday.

The fighting took place about five miles from Kyeinchaung village, with local residents saying the Myanmar military suffered heavy casualties.

According to family members, the Kyeinchaung village administrator is the only person who leads local development activities in the village. The three men are currently being held at a BGF camp about one mile north of the village and have not been allowed to meet with family members.

“He [Ko Tun Chay] is being questioned at a BGF camp,” said a relative of Ko Tun Chay. “He was arrested at his home. He is a social activist and leads local development activities. He earns a living as a grocer. I want him released as soon as possible as he did nothing wrong.”

Detainee Ko Tun Kyaing aka Ko Ahtar is reportedly the owner of a filling station in the village.

Myanmar’s military regime has arrested several people in Arakan State on suspicion of being associated with the Arakan Army over the past two months. Human rights activists say that those arrested include local people who have no connection to the ethnic armed group.

“The Myanmar military arrested some locals on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army,” said U Mrat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association. “These are violations of human rights as they lead to arbitrary arrest and detention, [contravening Article 9] of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

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

The Arakan Army also issued a warning in its July 19 statement, urging the public to be on alert as the Myanmar military continues to conduct military operations and preparations in Arakan State.

“If the Myanmar military continues to attack, there is a possibility that battles will happen again at any time and in any place,” U Khaing Thukha, spokesman for the Arakan Army, told DMG.

The AA statement described the military as acting with belligerent aggression, pointing to the arrest of civilians, harassment of individuals affiliated with its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), and disruption of the ULA’s parallel judicial system in Arakan State.