Approximately 30 Rakhine IDP men arrested in Ayeyarwady Region have lost contact with their families.
Those arrested are fishermen from Gwa and Thandwe Townships, who were working while living as IDPs in Kyonpyaw Town, Ayeyarwady Region.
The junta patrolling column arrested them one by one on the evening of 20 August, around 9 p.m., while they were returning from the market and tea shop, according to the residents.
A resident said to Narinjara that although they have been arrested for about 10 days, they have had no contact whatsoever with their families.
A resident said: “ Those working in the fishing industry work at night and sleep during the day. Therefore, those who fled to the Ayeyarwady Region are now without jobs and struggling with a disrupted day-night cycle. They went to the Kyonpyaw market at night to relieve stress. That's where they were arrested. We don’t know where they were taken, and we haven't been able to contact them.”
Most residents from Thandwe and Gwa Townships are living as IDPs in Ayeyarwady Region.
Although Rakhine IDPs living in Ayeyarwady Region have informed the relevant wards and village tract administrators of their situation and are residing there, they continue to face constant surveillance by the junta, according to a close associate with the IDPs.
“They are being watched like parents closely observing their child. They are under constant surveillance," he said.
Following the resurgence of fighting, most locals from Rakhine State are seeking refuge in both liberated areas within Rakhine State and in neighboring regions.
It is also reported that the junta has recently been increasingly arresting Rakhine individuals who are taking refuge in neighboring regions.
Additionally, junta soldiers from the battalions stationed in Gwa town arrested over ten Rakhine IDPs in YeKyaw village, Gwa township, around 6 p.m. on 29 August, according to residents.
It is not yet known where they were taken.
Those arrested were IDPs from Singuang and Gyeiktaw villages in Thandwe Township, Rakhine State, who were taking refuge in Ye Kyaw village, Gwa Township.
