More than 80 local residents from southern Thayetchaung Township in Dawei District, Tanintharyi Region, have been arrested by military junta troops over the past two weeks and forced to take part in area clearance operations, according to local sources.
The arrests occurred between the last week of March and the first week of April. Those detained are from villages including Thetchaungtha, Chaungwa Pyin, Mindat, Winwa, Sone Sin, and Goun Nyan Seik in southern Thayetchaung Township.
A local woman said the military junta is using the detained civilians as human shields while conducting clearance operations around the Winwa military base, which it has recently regained control of.
“We heard that those arrested are being held at the Winwa base. There has been no contact at all—we don’t even know if they are alive or dead. Although revolutionary forces have withdrawn, the military is still firing mortars indiscriminately. They are afraid of counterattacks, so they are keeping the detainees at the base and forcing them to accompany their columns,” she said.
Among the more than 80 detainees are both young people and elderly residents, with the largest number reportedly from Chaungwa Pyin village. Families have not been able to contact them.
A relative of one detainee said arrests have been ongoing since before the end of March.
“They didn’t arrest everyone at once. They have been arresting people continuously since before March ended. Just yesterday, one or two more people were taken. Whenever villagers encounter military columns, they are arrested. My younger brother was arrested while herding cattle, and my older brother was also taken. In each village, around eight to ten people have been arrested,” he said.
Although airstrikes have stopped since the military regained control of the Winwa base, indiscriminate mortar shelling from the base continues, another local woman said.
The Winwa base, located along the Myeik–Dawei section of Union Highway No. 8, was captured by joint revolutionary forces on March 11 but was retaken by the military junta on March 31 following naval and air attacks.
In recent days, military troops stationed near the Winwa base and along the Myeik–Dawei road have also confiscated villagers’ motorcycles and demanded payment for their return, according to reports.
Residents from more than 20 villages in southern Thayetchaung Township have been displaced for over two months due to fighting and aerial bombardments. Limited access to assistance has been reported due to ongoing telecommunications blackouts.
