Junta soldiers accused of burgling uninhabited Sittwe Twsp residences

By Admin 04 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
4 October 2024, Sittwe

Unoccupied homes in Sittwe's Shwepyitha Ward were reportedly burgled and valuables were allegedly stolen by junta soldiers in recent days.

Hundreds of junta soldiers and police arrived in Shwepyitha Ward on the outskirts of Sittwe, and at neighbouring Kyaytaw Village, forcibly evicting residents from the areas on September 15. Junta soldiers have been stationed in Shwepyitha Ward since then, local residents said.

"Junta soldiers burgled unoccupied homes in Shwepyitha Ward and stole private valuables. No residents remained in Shwepyitha Ward and junta soldiers barred the residents from re-entering the village," said an eyewitness.

Many Shwepyitha Ward residents left valuables behind in the chaos of the harried campaign of forced evictions that took place in mid-September.

"We left our private valuables such as motorbikes in our home due to the junta's forced eviction," said one evictee.

Shwepyitha Ward is home to about 1,500 people across approximately 300 households. The evictees are currently staying in Sittwe's Kontan, Mizan and Shwe Pyar wards, with some taking shelter at monasteries there.

The evictees are facing food and accommodation difficulties as the regime did not provide any relocation assistance to them.

"The regime did not provide any assistance to us. No organisation provided us with food assistance. We may face livelihood hardships in the long run," said a female evictee from Shwepyitha Ward.

Junta troops occupied 14 Arakanese villages in Sittwe Township after forcing villagers there to move to Sittwe Town in June of this year. Regime soldiers that were subsequently stationed in these villages have similarly been accused of breaking into some homes that were left unattended.

Hundreds of villagers relocated by the regime and forced to live in Sittwe are facing livelihood hardships and the constant fear of arbitrary arrest by junta forces in the Arakan State capital.