The junta forces have  arrested five residentsincluding four women and a student from Kyaukphyu township of  Rakhine State on Saturday.

The arrested women include Daw Wai Wai, Daw Thein AungSein, Daw Aung Phyu, etc. They were arrested from a nearby area to Ka Nyin Tawschool by 11:30 pm on 30 March.

"They opted for a cheap route to come out of thetown, where passengers need to pay on the basis of routes. As they are facinghardships, the people prefer cheap routes and thus get arrested. Even if theypay, they still face the risk of apprehension,” said  a reliable source.

 A resident from Kyaukphyu explained the struggles oflocal communities as they have to pay Kyats  60,000 to 100,000 per personto the junta soldiers to get the travel permission.

"There are trenches and the soldiers are roamingaround Kyaukphyu. The travel costs have increased recently. The checkpoint atKyauk Ta Lone is particularly difficult as the prices escalate from Kyats70,000 to 100,000  if one travels to rural areas. It's been going on forover three  months now. The vendors are also struggling as they have topay hefty amounts to sell their products. So they seek cheaper or free routes.If they avoid the payment, soldiers come to the market area to extort money.It’s apprehended that the Kyaukphyu-based  soldiers and police personnelare now transferring a huge amount of money (to the tune of  Kyats 4-5million) to their families every day," said a resident.

Half of Kyaukphyu population has already fled to safer places due to theintensified military preparations in their locality.

Since November 2023, the junta forces have blocked allthe land and waterways in Rakhine State. Despite the ban on travel, someindividuals resorted to bribery for movement in need.