Myanmar junta soldiers have been detaining passengers of military conscription age arriving at Sittwe Airport in Rakhine State from Yangon since Feb. 18, and some are reportedly still in detention.
After first being questioned at the airport, some passengers are being taken to Sittwe’s Law Ka Nandar Pagoda Hill near the airport, where junta troops are stationed, sources said.
A resident of Sittwe who was detained upon arrival on Feb. 19 and released that evening, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that some passengers arriving at the airport were taken into a hall inside the airport building where junta soldiers questioned them, later taking those whose age made them eligible for military conscription to the Law Ka Nandar base.
This week, junta troops at Yangon airport have also reportedly started interrogating young people and even blocked some of those aged from 18 to 35 from returning to Rakhine.
The junta’s military has suffered a series of defeats in the war in Rakhine State, losing seven towns, major bases and outposts since the Arakan Army (AA) launched an offensive there on Nov. 13, 2023. Since then, the military regime has been oppressing Rakhine civilians.
In particular, junta troops are targeting young people traveling to Sittwe from Yangon, suspecting they are attempting to evade military duty under the newly enforced conscription law—whose activation the regime announced on Feb. 10—and possibly enlist in the AA.
On Feb. 20, the AA announced that the safest place for ethnic Rakhine people was in areas in Rakhine State currently under AA control. It urged them and other ethnic people to leave cities under regime control such as Mandalay and Yangon and move to AA-controlled territory.
After the AA announcement, the military junta instructed its troops to arrest and interrogate people returning to Rakhine State to prevent them from enlisting in the AA and joining the fight against the regime, a local media outlet reported, citing an inside source.
According to Sittwe residents who were on the flight that landed on Feb. 19, when the airplane arrived passengers were held for almost five hours and checked twice, first in the airport hall and again by junta soldiers in an area of the airport building where military forces are based.
Soldiers thoroughly questioned all passengers about the reason for their travel to Sittwe, their next destination, and where would they stay in the city. Passengers’ identity documents were copied and they had their photos taken from multiple perspectives. This has now become a daily routine at the airport, sources said.
“First, they asked our age and questioned us about our backgrounds. Civil servants, elderly people, children and their mothers were allowed to pass through. Young people were detained, grilled [about their plans] and not allowed to leave. Almost 300 people were detained on Feb. 19,” a resident said.
Junta soldiers then put the passengers on military trucks and drove them to Law Ka Nandar Pagoda Hill, placed them in a two-story building, and asked them for additional background information such as their birth place, where they received their basic education, where they planned to stay in Sittwe and other things.
According to a resident who was detained on Feb. 19, residents of towns where clashes have occurred between junta troops and AA forces were more heavily interrogated than Sittwe dwellers. They were checked more intensely about their biography, background and the route to their homes, she said, adding that every route out of Sittwe is currently blocked by junta soldiers.
The military junta has also imposed restrictions on air travel out of Rakhine State and Tanintharyi Region. Since the second week of February, passengers have been required to obtain a letter of permission from the local administrator before flying to Yangon, Mandalay and other major cities in the country.
People cannot fly out of Tanintharyi and Rakhine unless they receive approval from the junta-controlled General Administration Department office in their neighborhood, according to a notice issued to airlines by the junta’s Transport and Communications Ministry.
On Feb. 20, more than 100 ethnic Rakhine passengers on three buses bound for Rakhine State were arrested at Yangon’s Aung MinGalar bus terminal and were not heard from for more than a week, local media in Yangon reported.
With the junta blocking all land routes out of Rakhine State and waterways also closed, air is now the only mode of travel in or out of Rakhine State, Sittwe residents said.
“Some of the people who were detained with me on Feb. 19 at Sittwe Airport are still in their [the junta’s] hands,” a resident said.
