Regime troops open fire ‘indiscriminately’ in Mrauk-U, detain local man: residents

By DMG 04 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
4 September 2022, Mrauk-U

The Myanmar military reportedly arrested a local man in Mrauk-U, Arakan State, on Sunday morning, hours after entering the town and indiscriminately opening fire.

The detainee has been identified as Ko Kyaw Zan Wai aka Ko Yin Hsot, and he was taken from his home in Mrauk-U’s Taungyat ward by junta soldiers at about 7 a.m., according to a source close to his family.

“He [Ko Kyaw Zan Wai] was abducted from his home by regime soldiers this morning. I don’t know why he was arrested and he is an innocent man,” the source added.

“I want him released as soon as possible after he is questioned. Around 100 junta soldiers in five military trucks are currently deployed in Taungyat ward. Residents dare not go outside,” the source said.

Ko Kyaw Zan Wai earns a living selling spare motorbike parts and his defenders say he is not involved in any organisations that would warrant his arrest by the military regime.

A 100-strong military contingent entered Mrauk-U in the early hours of September 4 and has been accused of opening heavy weapons and small arms fires indiscriminately.

People closed their shops in fear and no one dared to go outside as around 100 junta soldiers were stationed in residential areas such as Konthelton, Kanhla and Taungyat wards, and near the town’s Myoma Market.

“Some locals went into hiding in fear following the military detention of a resident. The military fired heavy weapons and small arms fire indiscriminately at around 1 a.m. Gunfire was heard from the areas of Myanmar military regiments,” said an unnamed resident of Mrauk-U.

“Living in urban Mrauk-U is not safe for us for the time being. We live in fear amid economic hardships. At this time, the Myanmar military should not threaten the people with its arms. Doing this is like pushing the public toward armed revolution,” said a community elder in Mrauk-U.

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura regarding the matter.

Military tensions between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) have been ratcheting up for weeks in Mrauk-U and other Arakan State townships, with locals worrying that recent, intermittent fighting between the two sides will grow in frequency and intensity.

Residents of Buywet Manhyo village in Mrauk-U Township reportedly fled their homes as junta troops entered the village on the morning of September 2.

Three civilians including a 4-year-old child were killed and eight others were injured in Mrauk-U Township on August 28, when the military’s Mrauk-U-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 377 shelled Kin Seik village.