Holders of Arakan National Identification Cards (NICs), identified by having a serial number that starts 11/xxx are now facing more stringent junta checks in Ayeyarwady Region.
In the past few days, around 50 young and middle-aged Arakan NIC holders in the townships of Kyonpyaw and Yegyi in Ayeyarwady Region have faced stricter checks than other people with some being arrested and others temporarily detained, according to sources in those townships.
A Kyonpyaw resident said to DMG: “Checks targeting 11/xxx NIC holders have occurred in the past, but the situation has worsened in recent days. We've heard that some of those detained managed to escape after paying a bribe. Others are still being held and interrogated, though it's unclear where they are being kept.”
The junta has also imposed strict checks on 11/xxx NIC holders at checkpoints along the highway linking Pathein, the capital of Ayeyarwady Region, to Yangon.
Reports suggest that the junta is arresting young Arakan people who it suspects support the Arakan Army (AA).
Ayeyarwady Region borders Arakan State. Tens of thousands of Arakan State residents temporarily fled to Ayeyarwady Region, following recent fighting between the AA and the junta in the southern Arakan townships of Taungup, Gwa, and Thandwe, close to the border with Ayeyarwady Region.
A woman displaced from Arakan State currently sheltering in Ayeyarwady Region said: “Because our NIC numbers start with 11/xxx, we are often subjected to more detailed questioning. We are regularly asked about what we are doing, where we are going, and when we will return. At times, the authorities even search our homes without any reason.”
Arakan State residents in Ayeyarwady Region are becoming increasingly concerned because the junta is targeting them more.
Another woman from Arakan State currently sheltering in Ayeyarwady Region said: “I constantly worry about when I will be arrested just because I’m from Arakan. Right now, it's not safe to return to my homeland, and I don't feel safe here anymore either.”
The junta's increasing crackdown on displaced people from Arakan State in Ayeyarwady Region has caused some of them to move to Yangon and other regions for their own safety.
There are currently hundreds of thousands of displaced Arakan State residents sheltering in Ayeyarwady Region towns such as Kyonpyaw, Yegyi, Pathein, Chaung Thar, Thabaung, and Ngathaingchaung. They are struggling with numerous hardships including a lack of assistance, unemployment, discrimination and being targeted for arrest."
