Weekly Update of Arakan

Desk-

4.6.2024

Intense fighting near the airport led to the suspension of Yangon-Thaddwe flights

Residents reported gunfights in Gawt hamlet near Ma Zin airport in Thandwe township, Ngapali beach, and junta airstrikes suspending Yangon-Thaddwe flights. In Gawt village on June 3, junta soldiers and Arakan Army (AA) militants fought fiercely.

“We only operate the flights once a week, but we have temporarily suspended them now.” The airport is a mile from the fighting site. Multiple launch rocket systems and artillery shelling are the sources of fire. The Navy fired too. “The local residents are extremely worried about the situation,” remarked one.

The junta is focused on the 2-mile forest between Gawt and Sin Kyet hamlets. More individuals are taking sanctuary at Mya Padonmar Pao Wun Resort and Amara Hotel. At Ngapali’s entrance to Gawt village, fighting began. Each jet fighter dropped three, six, and four bombs.

The resident saw jet fighters hovering. After severe fighting, junta soldiers informed Thandwe locals that they had shuttered Ma Zin airport and canceled the May 13 flight. 2013 flight.

7.6.2024

Arakan State IDPs need healthcare

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State urgently need healthcare services because they are suffering from colds, malaria, and seasonal flu amid the seasonal changes. More than 20 people are suffering from malaria and seasonal flu at the Ahtet Myat Hle displacement camp in Ponnagyun Township. More than 700 people are taking shelter at the camp.

“Many people are sick, and not all of them can test for malaria. According to a camp manager, mosquitoes frequently bite people due to the frayed mosquito nets. Financial difficulties put a doctor visit out of reach for most IDPs. Many people displaced by fighting between Myanmar’s military regime and the Arakkha Army (AA) since November have had to live in makeshift shelters near forests and in fields.

“When it is wet, it is quite troublesome for us.” We’ve got to cook in the rain. We don’t feel clean. We are a big family, but we have to sleep together under a single mosquito net. We have financial difficulties, and we can’t afford medicines,” said a displaced woman from Sittwe Township.

Many displaced people are still in temporary shelter arrangements despite the onset of the monsoon season. Consumer goods and pharmaceuticals are dwindling in Arakan State, and their prices have soared due to a junta blockade.

Closures of hospitals and clinics, coupled with shortages of medicines, leave pregnant women and children under two years old without access to important vaccinations.

Regime moves Sittwe political prisoners to Yangon

On June 4, a local source reported the transfer of scores of political prisoners from Sittwe Prison in the Arakan State capital to Yangon. A military Y-8 transport aircraft transferred over 90 political prisoners from Sittwe Prison to Yangon. Three vehicles carried dozens of political prisoners to Sittwe Airport before their transfer to Yangon.

The regime likely transferred the political prisoners to Yangon due to concerns that the Arakkha Army (AA) might seize Sittwe. The source informed DMG that they are likely to transfer the remaining prisoners to other areas.

Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, and Section 50(a) and/or Section 50(j) of the Counterterrorism Law have charged over 100 political prisoners at Sittwe Prison. “Some political prisoners were handcuffed.

A source near Sittwe Airport reported that a flight carrying at least 90 political prisoners arrived in Yangon at around 4 p.m. on June 4. The AA has announced that the ethnic armed group will launch attacks on the regime to seize those townships it has not yet taken control of, namely Maungdaw, Sittwe, Ann, Thandwe, Kyaukphyu, Taungup, Manaung, and Gwa. Following the AA’s announcement, political prisoners were transferred.

8.6.2024

AA will not yet allow schools to open within its area due to safety concerns

During a press conference on Saturday, U Khaing Thukha, spokesman for the United League of Arakan/Arakkha Army (ULA/AA), stated that the Arakkha Army (AA) is unable to open schools in townships under its control in Arakan State due to security concerns.

“It is not safe [to open schools] given the circumstances on the ground.” In response to a DMG question, U Khaing Thukha stated that living currently holds greater significance than education. The AA spokesman claimed that the military government in Myanmar had no regard for the education of its citizens. “Civilian casualties are increasing as the regime conducts more bombing raids and drone attacks across the country,” U Khaing Thukha stated.

The AA now controls Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State, as well as the townships of Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Myebon, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Buthidaung, and Ramree in Arakan State. Da The dictatorship has directed daily bombing raids towards multiple townships, leading to an increasing number of civilian casualties. It’s not secure. Public safety does not make school openings a priority.

“Even if we open schools, it will take time to acquire enough teachers and implement certain ULA education policies,” U Khaing Thukha remarked. On June 3, the dictatorship inaugurated public schools in the townships of Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, Ann, Maungdaw, Taungup, Gwa, and Manaung. Even though the regime still controls those townships, the majority of them have tense school environments, and parents are worried about the safety of their kids.

“We’re not sure when the fighting will start. We are required to enroll our children. “And the kids are terrified,” a Sittwe Town mother said. Arakan State has roughly 3,200 public schools.    

9.6.2024

The Bangladeshi government sent back 134 Myanmar police personnel

No less than 134 members of Myanmar’s border guard police (BGP) were repatriated via waterways by the Bangladesh government in Dhaka, whereas 45 Bangladeshi nationals were sent back on Sunday, according to a report in the Dhaka Tribune.

Myanmar police personnel sought refuge in Bangladesh due to the prolonged conflicts between the junta forces and Arakan Army (AA) fighters in the Rakhine region. On June 9, at around 10 a.m., four buses carrying the BGP and military personnel arrived at the Bangladesh inland water transport authority jetty in Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) personnel and local administration strictly monitored the process. Tugboats transported the BGP members to a Myanmar navy ship, ready for movement. A Myanmar delegation arrived in Cox’s Bazar on Saturday by navy ship and discussed the process of repatriation.

By then, a Bangladeshi official confirmed the return of 45 Bangladeshi citizens who had served in various Myanmar jails.

 10.6.2024

In Maungdaw Township, dozens of Rohingyas lost their lives or suffered injuries

The AA forcibly displaced Rohingya villagers in Southern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State of Myanmar, on June 10 at around 7 o’clock in the morning. On June 10 at around 7 o’clock in the morning, the AA forcibly displaced the Rohingya villagers of Alay Than Kyaw Rohingya village and snatched all their properties.

According to a source, the AA forcibly displaced all 28 Rohingya families from Alay Than Kyaw Rohingya village in southern Maungdaw Township. The AA forcibly displaced a total of 128 people from 28 Rohingya families in Alay Than Kyaw Rohingya village, robbing them of all their belongings, including food and clothing, in the early hours of June 10.

The AA informed the residents of Alay Than Kyaw Rohingya village that “Arakha Army must engage in combat with the Military Battalion of Alay Than Kyaw, and it is imperative that you vacate the village immediately.” If you remain in the village, you will face death by gunfire.”

The Rohingya villagers in Alay Than Kyaw are in critical condition, with no access to any village or food. The villagers of Alay Than Kyaw are requesting that international communities please protect them from the AA.

In the outpost within the IDP camps, police have replaced the Myanmar military

The military forces stationed inside the Sittwe IDP site left their outposts at around 1 p.m. on June 10. The Rohingya IDPs are afraid of any further clashes between the Arakan Army and military.

An IDP from the Thek Kay Pyin camp informed me that vehicles were transporting the military’s weapons, leaving their outposts empty. The Sittwe IDP camps contained approximately 14 outposts, from which all military forces had departed, leaving them unsure of their destination.

In the evening of June 10, police forces replaced the military in those outposts within the IDP camps of Sittwe City in Arakan State.

11.6.2024

The military junta ordered the residents of five Sittwe villages to relocate

The Myanmar military junta has ordered the residents of five villages under Sittwe township to relocate to Sittwe town within five days. The military junta has asked them not to relocate to other places. They have instructed us to relocate by June 14.

The villages slated for relocation are Aung Daing, Pa Lin Pyin, Ohn Yae Phaw, Kyat Taw Pyin, and Yae Chan Pyin,” said a resident. The villagers are unaware of the reason behind the order. Many of them understand that the junta soldiers might use them as human shields. The Sittwe township general administration office directed the concerned officials from these villages, although we attempted to contact them without success.

The order has now put tens of thousands of local residents in difficult situations. After the junta soldiers brutally killed more than 70 people in Byine Phyu village under Sittwe township between May 29 and June 4, they are planning to forcibly relocate other villages.