Narinjara News, April 23,  2025 

Reports indicate that junta authorities have detained more than 30 residents of Sittwe who were attempting to escape from the junta-dominated city of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, to areas liberated by the Arakan Army (AA). 

More than 30 residents of Sittwe, including children and women, were arrested, among them 10 villagers from Byin Phyu Village in Sittwe Township. The junta forces carried out a massacre in Byin Phyu village, resulting in the deaths of 76 individuals. The unfortunate event occurred during the final week of May 2024. 

As they got ready to depart from Sittwe to Pauktaw Township at the (BXT) Korean Port in Mizan Ward, Sittwe, around 5 pm on April 22, junta forces, including police, apprehended them. 

A resident of Sittwe reported that more than 30 individuals who were arrested attempting to flee Sittwe because of concerns over a potential resurgence of violence in the area, along with unemployment and challenges like food scarcity. Due to this situation, they were getting ready to depart from Sittwe to Pauktaw Township, which is under AA control. 

“It is known that the detained individuals were fleeing from Sittwe to Pauktaw. They were taken into custody just as they were preparing to depart Sittwe by boat to Pauk Taw Township. They were fleeing Sittwe by bribing brokers connected to local officials,” the Sittwe resident mentioned. 

It was additionally noted that every individual paid 1 million kyats to the brokers to leave Sittwe without any interference from local junta officials, including police and Navy, while departing from Sittwe. 

The junta authorities have firmly forbidden residents in Sittwe from traveling to other regions, allowing only air travel to mainland Burma, such as Yangon and Mandalay. As a result of these situations, the residents of Sittwe had to offer bribes to military officials via intermediaries if they wished to exit Sittwe. 

Although they have been arrested, it is currently unknown where they are being detained by junta forces. 

On June 20, 2024, at approximately 9 p.m., around 50 residents from Sittwe attempting to escape Sittwe via Thein Tan Village and Narikan Village in Sittwe Township were apprehended by military council forces at the junction of Kyauk Tan Gyi Village on the outskirts of Sittwe. 

Similarly, on June 19, the military council navy shot at 11 locals escaping the conflict by boat from Sittwe Township, resulting in the deaths of two men and the capture of five women. The other four are reported to have fled the scene of the accident. (Photo by Ethical Traveler)