- Web Master
- October 22, 2024
Narinjara
News, 28 June 2024
The
military junta has admitted that their officers looted the World Food Programme
(WFP) warehouse in Maungdaw town of Rakhine State.
Major general Zaw
Min Tun, leader of the information team of the junta also confessed that they
took away 2,000 bags of rice grains.
"Since
the rice bags were intended to support the Maungdaw refugees, the security
forces distributed one bag of rice grains to each household in ward-1,
ward-2, ward-3, ward-4, Ka Nyin Tan ward and Maung Ni ward on 22 June,” he
added.
Zaw Min Tun
officially confessed the act on 27 June through the military-owned newspapers.
But he did
not reveal if the junta obtained the necessary permission from the WFP, a
United Nations organization in Myanmar, before looting the rice bags.
A Muslim
resident reported that on 22 June, the junta soldiers distributed the rice bags
to Muslim residents of Maungdaw, persuading them to support the junta.
These rice bags were distributed among 2,019 households in Maungdaw, including 190 households in ward-1, 613 households in ward-2, 104 households in ward-3, 187 households in ward-4, 606 households in Ka Nyin Tan ward and 319 households in Maung Ni ward, reported the military-sponsored media outlets.
Zaw Min Tun
also stated that they began moving the warehouse items to nearby safe locations
from 21 June to prevent those from falling into the Arakan Army’s hands.
He also disclosed that the AA fighters conducted drone reconnaissance on 22
June and bombed the WFP warehouse.
"The
military junta remains a responsible organization in the country. Did
they inform the WFP in Yangon before looting these rice bags or did they notify
them after the act under the law? The WFP's statement also did not mention any
such initiative. Taking materials from an international organization without
necessary permission and distributing those independently is always
unacceptable. It constitutes an act of violence," commented a
Maungdaw-based Arakanese politician.
An AA
statement along with a video clipping claimed that on 21 June at around 5
pm, the junta soldiers and some armed Muslims collaborated to burn down the WFP
warehouse along with several houses in Wai Thar Li village under Maungdaw
locality.
It also
mentioned that some packages, believed to contain cement, were also taken away
and used for the defence purpose at district rural office. Mentionable is that
Zaw Min Tun's response came after the AA released the statement.
Earlier on
25 June, the WFP issued a strong statement condemning the act of looting and
burning of the WFP warehouse, where a total of 1,175 metric tons of life-saving
food items were also stored.