June 2, 2016
Buthidaung- Tatmadaw forces raided Shab Bazaar after midnight on Thursday and arrested five people on charges of being associated with Rohingya rebels, according to our correspondent in the area.
The military started the arrests at around 1am, but by 4am, three were released as their families had agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of kyats in ransom, effectively giving away all the money they had to save their sons.
However, families of two of the arrested men did not have enough to please the military and they have been taken to an undisclosed location.
Raids, arbitrary arrests and disappearances have increased in the Buthidaung area in recent months, with many being whisked away without specific charges and their whereabouts remaining a mystery with family members fearing the dreaded torture common in custody and even death.
In the remote northern areas of the township, many including infant children have been killed in recent months, according to testimonies of newly arrived refugees in Bangladesh.
Most of the cases have gone undocumented.
