Myebon Twsp village subject to mass detention, interrogations by military

By Hnin Nwe 09 May 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
May 9, Myebon

Over 70 residents of Ye Shin village in Myebon Township were taken in for questioning by the Tatmadaw over the weekend, with the elderly among them later released but dozens still in military custody.

At around 6 a.m. on Saturday, a 130-strong Tatmadaw column came from the direction of Kantgaw village, entered Ye Shin village and conducted house-to-house searches, according to Ko Tun Win, a villager from Ye Shin.

“The Tatmadaw troops went into people’s houses and just ransacked them. After that they started the interrogations,” he said. “They dragged all the men from their homes and asked them if there were AA [Arakan Army members] in the village. They beat people up.”

The Tatmadaw took around 70 people from Ye Shin for questioning, including about 10 teenagers, local residents said.

According to one of the released villagers, those over the age of 50 were subsequently released, but the rest were taken by the Tatmadaw to a hilltop near the village.

U La Pyae Aung, who was one of those released, said: “They questioned us; they asked if the AA were in the village. It wasn’t like they shouted at us when asking questions, they were just asking normally. But two young boys who didn’t give clear answers were beaten.”

Several residents have since fled the village due to the interrogations, including some who were released after questioning and don’t dare stay in the village any longer.

Myebon Township’s Pyithu Hluttaw representative, U Phay Than, confirmed the mass detention of Ye Shin residents and that some had been taken out of the village. However, no further details have been released, he said.

DMG attempted to contact the Tatmadaw True News Information Team’s secretary, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, and the Western Command spokesperson Colonel Win Zaw Oo concerning the incident, but they were unavailable to comment.

There has been no fighting near Ye Shin village and this is the first time Tatmadaw troops have entered the village and carried out interrogations, according to local residents.