Two Ponnagyun residents detained at checkpoint after Sittwe visit

By Win Nyunt 06 Mar 2020

Win Nyunt | DMG
6 March, Ponnagyun

Two men from Ai Tin village in Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, were arrested at the Kyauktan checkpoint on the outskirts of Sittwe at about 5 p.m. on March 5, according to family members of the detainees.

The two men were identified as U Maung Saw Aye, 29, and his nephew Ko Nay Lin Htay, 24. They were apprehended upon returning to their village in Ponnagyun Township from Sittwe by motorbike, said Daw Aung Than Nu, the mother of Ko Nay Lin Htay.

“They went to Sittwe to purchase some commodities. They were reportedly intercepted by security personnel at Kyauktan checkpoint for a body search. They were arrested because they didn’t stop the motorbike due to not hearing when they were called by the security personnel who intercepted them,” Daw Aung Than Nu told DMG.

Family members of the detainees and the Ai Tin village administrator were said to have rushed to the checkpoint where the two men are being held.

On August 1 last year, two men were fired upon by security personnel while the two motorcyclists were passing through the Arakan State’s capital from Ponnagyun Township. One of the men, 26-year-old Chit Thu Aung, was shot dead.

Security has been beefed up in some parts of Arakan State where clashes between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army have been ongoing. At the same time, the number of people who have been detained on suspicion of having ties to the ethnic armed group is increasing in Arakan State.