Salai Moe Aung, Narinjara News, 26 January 2025

The military junta forces  in Yegyi township of the Ayeyarwady region detained  nine residents of Arakan State including women displaced by the conflict on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army (AA).

The detainees include displaced individuals from Gwa and Ann townships consisting of six male and three females.

They were detained and later arrested on 22 January in the afternoon hours by the junta soldiers from the 344th artillery battalion based near Gwa-Ngathainggyaung.

A source close to the detainees informed that four individuals hail from Ann and five from Gwa township. They are detained on suspicion of maintaining links with the AA, it added.

The arrested individuals were taking shelter in Myauk San village under Ye Kyi township.

They have not been able to contact their relatives since their arrest and the families have no idea about their locations.

Additionally, due to the ongoing AA offensive in Ayeyarwady region, the junta soldiers are interrogating over 50 local residents in Arakan State. They sought shelter in Kyonpyaw and Yegyi townships after fleeing from their places.

The displaced people in the region raised concerns that the junta forces were conducting overnight guest list inspections and also carrying out arrests during the night hours.

On 8 December 2024, they arrested 20 local residents who fled the conflicts near Nga Yoke Kaung town under Pathein township in the Ayeyarwady region.

It’s estimated that at least 70 displaced individuals from Arakan State were detained across the Ayeyarwady region.