Over 100 non-Sittwe residents arrested in Arakan State capital

By Admin 22 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
22 May 2024, Sittwe

The regime has arrested more than 100 non-Sittwe natives in the Arakan State capital of Sittwe, according to residents.

The regime carried out checks on monasteries and wards on the nights of May 17 and 18, purportedly to search for unregistered overnight guests. 

The colonial-era law reactivated after the 2021 coup requires all Myanmar residents to seek permission from authorities to host overnight guests.

The regime arrested more than 100 people, mostly men and women in their 30s and 40s, whose citizenship ID cards indicate they are from areas other than Sittwe, according to residents.

“Over 100 people were arrested, and they remain under detention. They are being kept separately in the No. 1 and No. 2 police stations. Family members are not allowed to visit them,” said a man from Kone Tan Ward in Sittwe.

DMG is attempting to contact family members of the detainees, who are reportedly migrants from Buthidaung, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Pauktaw townships, and those trapped by the junta’s blockade in Sittwe after coming to the town for social reasons.

The regime has been going door to door to check unregistered guests in Sittwe since the fighting broke out in Arakan State.

A resident of Ywar Gyi Myauk Ward said: “People are arrested for various reasons. And we have to pay 5,000 kyats to authorities to register an overnight guest.”

Many have fled Sittwe for fear of fighting. The remainder are mostly low-income families, and those who have stayed behind to guard their homes.

People from other areas are taking shelter at monasteries that feed them.

“There are people who can’t return to their homes due to the junta’s blockade. They are going hungry and need shelter. So, they are staying at monasteries. The regime has deliberately arrested them,” said a man who is taking shelter at a monastery.

The Arakkha Army (AA) has seized the whole of northern Arakan State except Maungdaw. It has also seized control of Pauktaw, Ponnagyun and Rathedaung townships, which are located in closest proximity to Sittwe.

“The regime fears that the AA will attack Sittwe after seizing the whole of Maungdaw. So, they are arresting civilians whom it suspects of being AA members,” said a civil society organisation member.”

DMG’s phone calls to the junta’s Arakan State military council spokesman U Hla Thein went unanswered.

AA chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing last month told Sittwe residents to evacuate their homes, saying the AA was preparing for “the decisive battle.”

The regime has planted landmines around Sittwe to prevent residents from fleeing, in addition to torching boats.