Myanmar junta officials have arrested hundreds of civilians in Rakhine State’s capital of Sittwe, accusing them of having links to the Arakan Army (AA), according to residents.
Nine of Rakhine’s 17 townships are currently controlled by the AA, all of them in the north of the state.
Sittwe is the only northern town still under junta control as clashes spread south to Thandwe Township.
Junta soldiers, police, ward officials and Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) members began arresting non-registered residents of Sittwe at the beginning of April.
Almost 400 people have now been detained and accused of having links with the AA or allied ethnic armed groups, said residents, citing information from friends in the army in Sittwe.
The Irrawaddy was unable to verify that figure independently.
Regime troops conducting nighttime household inspections are arresting anyone found with a national registration card (NRC) issued elsewhere in the state, including Mrauk-u, Kyauktaw and Pauktaw townships.
Troops are also inspecting monasteries and arresting the civilians sheltering there after fleeing nearby clashes between regime forces and the AA, residents said.
“They are targeting everyone except children under 16, elderly people and women. On Friday, they entered Yaw Gyi north ward and arrested some civilians and three monks,” said Sittwe local Ko Lu Hman.
Sittwe is a large commercial city that attracts people from all over the state, many of whom have been resident in the state capital for years or are married to locals.
They are now trapped, targeted by a junta that has blocked all land and water routes out of Sittwe.
Residents report that detainees are released if they have money to bribe troops.
“But those without money are arrested and detained even if there is no evidence against them,” Ko Lu Hman said.
In February, the AA told Sittwe Military Command to surrender or face defeat after the ethnic army seized the nearby towns of Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Minbya, Rathedaung, Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw in an offensive that began on Nov. 3.
Since then, over half of Sittwe’s residents, including many junta administrators, have fled the city, leaving some wards of the town almost empty.
Regime troops responded to the AA’s warning by shelling civilians at a Sittwe bazaar in late February, killing 12 people and injuring almost 80.
Junta troops are targeting Sittwe wards and other non-military targets in advance of an expected attack by the AA, which aims to capture the entire state by year-end.
A female resident said that regime troops in Sittwe are targeting people from the AA strongholds of Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U and Minbya.
“People are in trouble. So far, we are hearing that junta troops have arrested hundreds of civilians who are not Sittwe NRC holders,” she said.
