Four men and two women from Khawzar Town were abducted by an unknown armed group on September 19th, while preparing alms offering at the Auk Kyaung Monastery. Two of the six victims were released the following day, while the four remaining victims were held for nearly one month.
“All of them are released now,” said a family member of one of the released victims, “We can breathe [now] since their lives are free from danger.”
The remaining victims were released back to their families on Monday, but the method in which they were released has not been disclosed, in order to protect the safety of the victims.
The unknown armed group demanded an extortion fee of 750 [hundred] thousand kyat in exchange for the freeing of the victims, but the families could not meet the demands.
“In our town, kidnappers can come and abduct locals any time. There are lots of strangers in the town and we cannot even differentiate whether they are our friends [or not],” said a local Khawzar resident, who requested to remain anonymous.
Referring to the lack of real security in Khawzar Town, the resident noted that “the army and police just stay at their base and station most of the time”.
Mi Myint Than, Pyithu Hluttaw representative for Ye Township, recently told IMNA that there is no effective security in the town at all.
Khawzar Town, located about 24 miles south of Ye Town, was promoted from village-tract level to sub-township level in 2000. Following the promotion to sub-township level, a police station, various government department offices, and Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 31’s base were established in Khawzar.
