Myanmar junta arrests dozens for sending supplies to rebel zone

Junta forces in Myanmar arrested and interrogated about 70 residents in the capital of Rakhine state on suspicion of being rebel sympathizers and trying to send supplies into rebel zones, residents told Radio Free Asia on Monday.  

The residents of Sittwe were targeted for trying to send goods and food to Arakan Army-controlled townships on Friday in violation of a junta blockade, residents said, adding that they had not been released as of Monday afternoon. 

“They dropped the goods off on the bank of the Kaladan River headed for Pauktaw and Mrauk-U townships,” said one resident, who declined to be identified for security reasons, referring to two townships that the ethnic minority insurgents seized in recent months from forces of the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup.

“Both the people who actually dropped the goods off and other people from the neighborhood were arrested, including women,” the resident said.

The identities and exact charges that the detained people faced were not known, he said. 

RFA tried to telephone Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson, Hla Thein, but he could not be reached for comment. 

Another resident, who also asked not to be identified out of fear for their safety, said soldiers were holding the detainees at Sittwe Police Station No. 1, adding that the military had tightened security on Sittwe’s roads to block shipments to areas under AA control.

Junta forces have lost significant amounts of territory to the AA in Myanmar’s western-most state since late last year and the guerrillas now control 10 of its 17 townships.

Junta forces have for years battled insurgents with a so-called four-cuts strategy, cutting off rebels from food, funds, information and recruits.

In Rakhine state, the military has tried to isolate the AA with transport blockades while rounding suspected sympathizers and setting up neighborhood militias to support the military.

The AA, which draws its support from the state’s Buddhist ethnic Rakhine community and is fighting for self-determination, announced its intention to capture the junta-controlled capital of Sittwe in March.

On Friday, the AA said it was planning an offensive to capture the remaining seven townships under junta control, including Sittwe. 

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 Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.