Myanmar’s military regime has detained eight residents in Sane town, Kyaukphyu Township, Rakhine State, after the Arakan Army (AA) abducted the town’s police chief on Sunday.
Following the abduction of Police Lieutenant Kyaw Zin Win, junta troops detained eight residents from Taung Gusu ward, including a ward administration office clerk, according to a Sane resident.
“Soldiers and police surrounded their houses on Sunday night and took them. Family members were not told why they were being taken. Four men and four women were detained and all of are from Taung Gusu,” he told The Irrawaddy.
Junta security personnel have been searching for members of the AA and its political wing, the United League of Arakan. Residents are staying in their houses and shops have closed due to security checks.
On July 18, the AA attacked junta troops in Maungdaw. An AA spokesman said the attack was in retaliation for the junta air raid on an AA outpost in Karen State near the Thai border earlier this month. The regime suffered casualties and border police were captured in the fighting.
On Sunday, the two sides clashed near the village of Abaung Thar in Paletwa Township, Chin State, for around 20 minutes.
Civilians in rural Paletwa and northern Maungdaw are starving as they dare not go into forests to catch fish and collect produce, their main source of livelihood.
