Junta troops occupy 14 Arakanese villages in Sittwe Twsp

By Admin 26 Jun 2024

DMG Newsroom
26 June 2024, Sittwe

Junta troops have occupied 14 Arakanese villages in Sittwe Township after forcing villagers there to move to Sittwe Town. 

Regime troops are now deployed in 14 villages including Byaing Phyu, where the regime massacred nearly 80 people in late May, bordering Rathedaung and Ponnagyun townships. 

A woman who fled Pyar Lay Chaung Village said: “All the villagers have fled. [The regime] has arrested some villagers. Junta troops are now deployed in the village and have dug trenches outside the village. I heard junta soldiers have also occupied other villages.” 

The regime forced residents from 12 of the 14 villages to move to Sittwe Town between June 9 and 14. It has told residents to move out of Amyint Kyun Village by June 26. 

Around 60 residents of Amyint Kyun including children were arrested during a junta raid on June 22. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Many residents fled following the raid.

One villager from Amyint Kyun said: “We were told to leave by June 26. We have not yet left, and we still don’t know where to go. But we must leave. We fear that we might face the same fate as Byaing Phyu Village if we don’t.”

Junta troops raided Byaing Phyu Village on the outskirts of Sittwe Town on May 29, slaughtering nearly 80 villagers and forcing the rest to leave the village. 

According to the township General Administration Department, there are 88 villages in Sittwe Township. More than 40 villages are exclusively inhabited by Arakanese people, with the regime in recent days forcing villagers out of 14 of those villages. 

Residents of some villages in Sittwe Township have fled to rural areas in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Pauktaw townships, which have been seized by the Arakkha Army (AA). 

One woman who was forcibly moved to Sittwe Town said: “We have been here for around two weeks. This place is crowded, and we are also going hungry.” 

Most of the villagers forcibly moved to Sittwe Town are staying in monasteries, and the regime has provided no food supplies for them. Charities are also struggling to help them due to the junta’s restrictions on travel and other aspects of daily life. 

The regime has tightened security across Sittwe Town, making several arrests. 

One Sittwe resident said: “The regime has been arresting residents. It is doing as it pleases. People dare not go out of their homes.” 

The regime has been accused of using the displaced villagers as human shields to deter an AA attacks. 

One politician said: “The regime is worried that the AA will attack Sittwe. The AA may attack it at any time. So, the regime has forced villagers to move to the town so that it can use them as human shields.” 

The regime has also been accused of planting landmines around the town.

The Myanmar military’s Regional Operations Command, Infantry Battalion Nos. 20, 232, 270 and Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 34 and 354, as well as Police Battalion Nos. 12 and 36, are based in Sittwe.