Ship with supplies for ‘reconstruction of Arakan State’ arrives in Sittwe: junta media

By Admin 03 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
3 August 2024, Sittwe

Myanmar's military regime said more than 400 tonnes of cargo for "reconstruction of Arakan State" arrived in the Arakan State capital Sittwe on Friday.

A ship carrying rice, medicines and building materials weighing 404.75 tonnes arrived in Sittwe on August 2, the military regime said.

Among the materials were 7,897 rice sacks provided by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, and medicine and related items ordered by the Arakan State military council, the junta-controlled Myanma Alinn daily reported on Saturday.

The regime has blockaded roads and waterways in Arakan State since renewed fighting broke out in November. Junta-run media have reported that it is using water transport to bring in rice, fuel and other vital items from Yangon.

Residents said the cargo that arrived on Tuesday was not intended for them, but rather for junta battalions defending against the threat of an Arakkha Army (AA) attack on the Arakan State capital.

"The military regime says it [the cargo] is for the people, but they are the ones who made the people suffer from food shortages. The goods, however, ended up at junta battalions instead," said a resident of Sittwe.

The regime has transported more than 70,000 tonnes of goods, 250,000 gallons of diesel and 20,000 gallons of octane to Arakan State since May 16, 2023, according to junta media, which reported that the regime is sending these relief supplies to Arakan State for the rehabilitation of the people affected by Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall on May 14, 2023.

The regime provided some relief materials to cyclone victims during the worst of the storm's aftermath, but these operations were halted after fighting broke out anew in Arakan State on November 13, 2023.

The regime has lost up to nine townships in Arakan State to the AA, and while the administration is collapsing, residents say it is sending food and goods to Sittwe to resupply the army under the pretence of rehabilitation.

"The regime is using water transport to bring in rice, fuel and other vital items from Yangon, but commodity prices have not fallen in Sittwe. We are struggling to make ends meet due to job scarcity. We would like to ask the regime to sell these items to the people at low prices," said a woman from Sittwe's Mingan Ward.

The AA has announced that it has surrounded junta battalions and military headquarters in Sittwe, the administrative seat of Arakan State, but that the regime has prepared a defence to prevent the AA from attacking the state capital.

In June, the regime occupied 14 Arakanese villages in Sittwe Township bordering Ponnagyun and Rathedaung townships, after forcing residents out of their homes. The regime has planted landmines around Sittwe and often fired mortar shells into AA-held areas.

The regime has been accused of committing war crimes by arresting residents trapped in Sittwe to be used as human shields, as well as killing some arrestees and extorting money from detainees.

An estimated two-thirds of town residents have fled the town for fear of fighting, while most of the rest are trapped in the town due to financial difficulties or for other reasons.