Village administrator remains detained by military following Paletwa Twsp fighting 

By DMG 04 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
4 June 2022, Paletwa, Chin State 

U Thar Tun Aung, the administrator of Abaung Thar village, Chin State, who was taken by the Myanmar military after regime forces clashed with the Arakan Army (AA) last month, has not been released since his arrest more than a week ago, according to locals. 

Junta troops detained the administrator and two 10-household heads from Paletwa Township’s Abaung Thar village on May 26, when regime forces clashed with the Arakan Army. The two 10-household heads were released on May 30, but U Thar Tun Aung is still being held. 

“The village administrator’s daughter is attending school in Paletwa,” a resident told DMG on condition of anonymity. “There are three children and his wife at his home. Family members are concerned for the safety of the detained village administrator. It would be good if the village administrator is released.” 

U Thar Tun Aung is reportedly being held by the military’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 289 in Paletwa, locals said.  

Other local administrators are also concerned that they might be next, if more fighting flares in the region. 

“We are worried about our own safety and fear that we will be arrested by the Myanmar military. I am worried that if there is fighting, people in the area will be arrested,” said a ward administrator in Paletwa. 

Major-General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military regime aka State Administration Council, was not available for comment. 

Dozens of ward and village administrators from Arakan State have resigned abruptly in recent years, with fear of arrest making up a significant proportion of the reasons cited. 

The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army reached an unofficial ceasefire toward the end of 2020, after some two years of fighting in Arakan State and parts of neighbouring Chin State. 

Only a handful of small-scale clashes have been reported since then, but military tensions are currently said to be running high in Arakan State. 

The Arakan Army has warned that fighting could erupt at any time due to the ongoing tensions with the military regime.