Kyaukphyu villagers flee homes due to junta threats

By Admin 28 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
28 November 2023, Kyaukphyu

Residents of Awataung village in Sanae town in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township have been forced to flee their homes due to threats from Myanmar’s military regime.

The regime fired shots at the school in the village on November 23. The following day, around 60 junta troops came to the village and made threats.

“Three bullets landed outside the teachers’ quarters. Since that day, villagers dare not live. The following day, [junta soldiers] summoned villagers and threatened them that they would torch their village if something [bad] happens to them,” said a villager who did not want to be named.

Taung Maw Gyi naval base, which is around one mile from Awataung Village, has been firing artillery and arms daily lately, throwing villagers into a panic.

A female resident said: “We heard gunshots from their bases. Reconnaissance drones were flying around the village. So, villagers fled out of fear.”

Awataung Village has over 100 households with a population of more than 500 people. Many villagers have fled to their relatives’ houses in nearby villages, and only some elderly persons are left in the village.

“Junta troops have camouflaged themselves near the village. So, farmers dare not go to their farms even though it is harvest now,” said a local farmer.

Villagers believe junta troops have threatened them for the safety of Taung Maw Gyi naval base due to heavy fighting in Arakan State.

DMG was unable to obtain comment from junta spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun and the junta’s Arakan State security and border affairs minister Kyaw Thura about alleged threats to the Awataung villagers.

International humanitarian law bars armed organisations from threatening, arresting and attacking civilians, and the cutting of food deliveries to civilians.