Nine Sittwe fishermen go missing after detained by junta forces

Nine fishermen from Shwe Pyi Thar village under Sittwe township, who were taken to Pauktaw township by officers of the  fishery department along with the junta soldiers, have gone missing for eight days now.

The concerned families have expressed their worries as they did not have any update  on the fishermen and their boats.

The local residents revealed that the fishermen were  taken away by the government  officials on 7 December.

A resident informed that all the nine fishermen were detained with their boats as they were moving towards Pauktaw township.

“The fishery department officials were accompanied by more than 20 military council troops and till date, the families have not been able to contact them,” he added.

The detained individuals include Maung Tun Myint, Maung Soe Min Tun, Maung Aye Hla, and U Than Htay, who hail from Shwe Pyi Thar village. Similarly,  U Aung Chan Hla, U Kyaw Ye Aung, U Kyaw Htay Win, U Kyaw Naing and Maung Thein Naing, who were temporarily residing in that
village, were also picked up. They are residents of Kyan Chaung village under Ponna Kyunt township.


When the family members approached the concerned officials for information about those nine fishermen, the department claimed that those individuals were  arrested by the Arakan Army (AA).

"They were taken by the fishery department officials but now they claim that the fishermen were arrested by the AA. Even though both the department officials and military personnel were involved with the incident, they are not taking any responsibility. We visited Myoma police station to check if they were there, but we could not find them,” added the resident.

According to local eyewitnesses, the fishermen departed from Set Yoe Kya creek with the soldiers riding their boats. As they were heading towards the vicinity of Taung Hpu mountain in Pauktaw township, a clash against the AA members broke out.

Initially it was thought that those fishermen were taken to retrieve fishing nets that caused an obstruction to the military council sponsored navy ships. It  was found that they were taken along the
waterway to Taung Hpu village under Pauktaw township, site of the current  battles.

On 12 December,  a total of 53 individuals comprising boatmen, vendors, students and teachers were picked up by the soldiers from the boats docked at South Korea's BXT port in Sittwe. Only 4 students and teachers from the group have been  released till now.