Regime detains four Arakanese IDPs sheltering in Ayeyarwady Region

By Admin 07 Jul 2025

DMG Newsroom

7 July 2025, Laymyethna, Ayeyarwady Region

Four young men displaced by fighting in Gwa Township, Arakan State, who were taking shelter in Laymyethna Township, Ayeyarwady Region, have reportedly been arrested by Myanmar's military regime, according to locals.

The four Arakanese men sheltering in Tonetaw Village were taken by junta soldiers on the evening of July 2.

"The detainees are Arakanese displaced people. They have been taking shelter in Ayeyarwady Region since the Gwa fighting. The village administrator knows them well," said a local man in Laymyethna. "The four men were arrested on suspicion of being Arakan Army (AA) members."

Among the arrestees are three men and one woman, aged between 25 and 30. DMG continues to investigate the details of the detainees.

Laymyethna residents said the military regime is arresting and questioning Arakanese people in Ayeyarwady Region on suspicion of being linked to the AA, and that Arakanese internally displaced people (IDPs) are facing security concerns.

"It is not yet known where the four Arakanese young men are currently being held. During this time, many IDPs from Arakan State are being kept under surveillance," he added.

Eleven IDPs sheltering in Mrauk San Village in Yekyi Township, Ayeyarwady Region, were arrested by the regime on suspicion of having ties to the AA on June 16.

The detainees - eight men and three women - are residents of Kyaukphyu and Gwa townships. They are reportedly being held at the junta's artillery battalion in Mrauk San Village.

There are reports that the military regime is arresting Arakan State residents on suspicion in Ayeyarwady Region, as the AA has been attacking military bases in collaboration with local resistance forces in Ayeyarwady Region.

The AA is currently conducting military operations in Ayeyarwady Region's Laymyethna, Yekyi, Ingapu, Thabaung and Pathein townships in collaboration with local anti-regime forces.

The military regime is also attacking civilian villages, claiming that there are revolutionary forces there, with artillery and airstrikes, in addition to the areas where fighting has occurred.

A local man said that some houses were damaged by a junta airstrike in Saw Pyar Village, Laymyethna Township, on July 4.

"The villagers have been on the run since April, so the junta air attack did not cause any casualties, but some houses were damaged. The military regime may have carried out the airstrikes, mainly because it believed there were resistance groups there," he said.

The Ayeyarwady People's Defence Force reported that nine civilians were killed and 20 injured in airstrikes, artillery fire, raids and other attacks carried out by the military regime in Laymyethna and Yekyi townships from May 15 to June 30.

In Ayeyarwady Region, the AA and allied forces have captured at least 10 military camps, police stations and temporary outposts, and clashes are currently taking place along the Pathein-Monywa highway and near the No. 344 Artillery Battalion in Yekyi Township.