Military council troops enter Rakhine towns during night hours

 Local residents are scared as the military council troops start entering the residential areas under some townships of Rakhine State during night hours.

They informed Narinjara News that the soldiers with full weapons entered into downtown areas of Rathedaung, Ponna Kyunt and Sittwe townships.

The soldiers were accompanied by some policemen also and they moved in Rathedaung locality after 8 pm on 19 September.

"The junta forces took policemen with them and entered into the town after 8 pm. Our area faced the cyclone Mocha and witnessed a lot of damage. Now they are worried if another battle between the military council and the Arakan Army (AA) may erupt soon,” said a local resident.

Similarly, the Ponna Kyunt residents also informed that the junta troops were moving with their vehicles in their areas for some days.

"They moved after 8 o'clock in the night with two cars and three motorcycles and wandered the city," he added.

Meanwhile in Sittwe, the soldiers have been stopping pedestrians during the day time and checking their cars and motorcycles.

In the last few days, soon after a member belonging to Daw Saw Mya Razalin's Arakan Liberation Party was killed by the gunmen, the soldiers started patrolling during night hours in various localities.

The soldiers have also entered in several villages under Taungup, Kyauk Phyu, Man Aung, Thandwe townships and chacked the locals on the roads.

The soldiers often inspect the motorcycle boxes of riders and also question them about the AA camps.

The junta troops even carried out drone reconnaissance over Buthidaung, Rathedaung and Mrauk U townships in July to identify the locations of AA military bases.

Both the military council and AA leaders agreed for an informal ceasefire in November 2022.

AA spokesperson U Khaing Thukha expressed concern that the soldiers were unnecessarily checking the local residents and also imposing restrictions on transportation of goods in the Rakhine region, which is no other than the violation of ceasefire rules.