Regime conscripts 300 displaced Muslims in Sittwe
“They fled to Sittwe while fighting was escalating in Buthidaung. They were forcibly conscripted over the past few days,” said one source.
16 Jul 2024
![The Thae Chaung Muslim displacement camp in Sittwe Township.](https://assets.dmediag.com/2024/7/thaechaung.jpg)
DMG Newsroom
16 July 2024, Sittwe
About 300 displaced Muslims from Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township taking shelter in Sittwe Township were forcibly conscripted by Myanmar’s military regime in the second week of July, according to sources.
“They fled to Sittwe while fighting was escalating in Buthidaung. They were forcibly conscripted over the past few days,” said one source.
Some are being held at the No. 1 police station in Sittwe and the rest were sent to junta battalions. Women among them have been released after being detained for a few days.
The regime threatened to arrest and prosecute the displaced Muslims if they did not go with them for conscription.
A volunteer helping families of the detained Muslims said: “We still can’t get in contact with them. The regime arrests people day and night these days.”
The Arakkha Army (AA) has been fighting the regime in Arakan State since November. The regime is collaborating with armed Muslim groups such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, Arakan Rohingya Army and Rohingya Solidarity Organization to defend against AA attacks. The regime has in the past forcibly conscripted Muslims in Sittwe, Buthidaung, and Maungdaw townships, sending many of them to the frontline.