The junta forces have detained another 25 Muslims fromSittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, for compelling them to join the militaryservice.

On 26 March afternoon in Aung Mingalar Muslim ward of Sittwe township, the soldiersarrested seven residents travelling in an auto rickshaw.

"The auto rickshaw came  from Sittwe with seven people on board. The passengers along with the driver were arrested. Isaw some Muslims were arrested, but I cannot confirm if there was any Rakhinetoo,”  said a local Muslimresident of Aung Mingalar ward.

Earlier on 25 March, four  people from Basara Muslim village near Sittwe,10 people from Aung Daing Muslimvillage and four  people from Maw Thee Nyar Muslim village were arrested by thejunta forces.

At 7:50 am on 25 March, the  junta forces alsoarrested around 10 individuals from Aung Daing village under Sittwe township.

Additionally, a number of residents from Basara andMaw Thee Nyar Muslim villages were also arrested by the junta soldiers. Theyalso threatened the family members as five of those nine  individualsarrested from Basara village managed to escape.

"In Maw Thee Nyar, four  people werearrested. Out of the nine individuals arrested, five  escaped. The juntaforces threatened to punish the families if they did not hand over thoseescapists," he added.

The residents prefer to live in harmony without anyethnic or religious conflict in Rakhine State. However the military junta'sactions are fuelling tensions between Rakhine people and Muslims in the region,he asserted.

"The conscription law is tied to citizenship. Weare left aside because we are not citizens. On the other hand, we are beingused as if we were citizens. This treatment is unacceptable to us. They arrestand force us to join military service and finally fight against Rakhine peopleamid the military conflict against the Arakan Army (AA). The AA currentlyenjoys significant public support in the region. Being compelled to fightagainst such a popular organization, we become helpless," he stated.

The junta has been carrying out forced arrests andcompelling them to join the military service. The soldiers are targeting MuslimIDP camps like  Dar Paing and Baw Du Pha in Sittwe locality as well as allMuslim villages.

According to a convincing report, there may be at least 600Muslims who are attending the military training.

The Muslim community reported that the junta deployedthe Muslim youths, who underwent short-term military training in Sittwe, in thebattle field of Rathedaung.

Recently, the AA announced the discovery of bodies belongingto junta soldiers and Muslims wearing military uniforms. These bodies werefound after the AA captured the 536th light infantry battalion, 537th lightinfantry battalion and 538th light infantry battalion based in Rathedaung, 20 miles north of state capital Sittwe.

Additionally, there have been reports that hundreds ofyoung and middle-aged Muslim men were arrested for compulsory military training in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships.