Manaung residents told to avoid AA or get bombed

By Admin 08 Apr 2024

DMG Newsroom
8 April 2024, Manaung

Myanmar’s military regime has told residents in Arakan State’s Manaung to steer clear of the Arakan Army (AA) or see their villages bombed.

Junta soldiers arrived at Thitpone Village in Manaung Township on Sunday and forced them to sign documents stating that they would not engage with the AA.

“They told the villagers to inform them if they spot someone who has ties to the AA, and that bombing raids would be carried out on villages that fail to comply, and that the villages that cooperate with them would be spared,” said a Thitpone villager.

Residents in Manaung Township are in a state of panic over the junta’s threat.

Junta soldiers have been travelling from one village to another in Manaung Township, threatening residents with bombing raids for ties to the AA, while using both coercion and persuasion to urge young people to comply with the recently instituted mandatory military service. Many young residents have fled as a result.

“Though Manaung is a separate island, it is also part of Arakan State. Residents there do not trust the regime no matter what sweet words the regime whispers to persuade them,” said a Manaung resident.

The regime has told residents in Manaung Township that conscripts would not need to go to the front line after undergoing military training, and rather that they only needed to serve in their native villages, and would be supplied with monthly salaries and supplies.

“The regime says conscripts do not need to fight, and that they only need to guard their villages,” said a Manaung resident.

Junta troops and the AA are currently not fighting in Manaung Township, but the regime has reinforced its bases in Manaung, according to residents who also reported troop movements.