Regime imposes stricter checks on travel in Mon State’s Kyaikto Twsp

By DMG 29 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
29 August 2022, Kayikto, Mon State

Myanmar’s military regime has tightened checks on road users since August 26, following fighting between its troops and a combined contingent of fighters from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and anti-junta resistance groups in Mon State’s Kyaikto Township, according to locals.

The regime has imposed tighter checks on vehicles, particularly express buses, along the Yangon-Mawlamyine road starting from the Sittaung Bridge in Theinzayet town, Kyaikto Township, said a local resident.

“They check citizenship ID cards against the faces of passengers, especially young men. There have also been increased checks on motorbikes and private vehicles,” he said.

Junta troops and the KNLA-led resistance forces clashed four times from August 23-26 in several parts of Kyaikto Township.

The regime is also carrying out patrols with a large number of troops near Mopalin and Ingabo villages, along the Yangon-Mawlamyine road, due to frequent KNLA attacks on junta positions at the Mopalin-Theinzayat junction and Mayanchaung checkpoint, according to Mopalin residents.

“The Mopalin-Theinzayat junction and Mayanchaung checkpoint have been often attacked. So, the military convoy patrols near Phaya Kozu Hill in Mopalin and the road near Ingabo village,” said a Mopalin resident.

Locals said the regime has also imposed restrictions on entering and leaving Kyaikto, as well as travel along the Taungsun-Bilin road, including the routes leading to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, a Buddhist pilgrimage site also known as Golden Rock Pagoda.

A Kyaikto resident said: “Those who return from Kyaiktiyo Pagoda are checked at the PT filling station at the entrance of the town. They’ve imposed really tight checks.”

Locals and travellers alike have expressed frustration over the junta checks, which can cause significant delays. The regime has also imposed a nighttime curfew from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. in Kyaikto, following fighting and attacks on junta checkpoints earlier this month.