Devastating Cyclone Mocha wreaks havoc on Rakhine State's fishing trawlers, urgent aid to restore local fishing industry needed. Following the devastating impact of Cyclone Mocha, numerous fishing trawlers in Rakhine State have been either destroyed or sunk. Consequently, there is an urgent requirement for financial investment and support to facilitate the restoration of the
RFA
Police and local authorities in Rakhine state’s Kyauktaw township on Monday took statements from family members of villagers believed to have been abducted last year by Myanmar military forces, with a military spokesman promising explanations if the army is shown to have been involved, Myanmar sources said.
The 18 men were taken away in two batches in mid-March, 2020 when soldiers from a Myanmar military infantry unit entered their community in Kyauktaw township amid fighting with the rebel Arakan Army (AA), later burning down dozens of homes in the 500-home ethnic Rakhine village tract.
Eight of the 18 Kyauktaw villagers were taken from Tin Ma Thit village on March 13, while the other 10 from Tin May Gyi village were arrested by troops on March 16, all on suspicion of having ties to the AA. The body of one of them was discovered a day later in a river, riddled with bullet holes.
RFA
Myanmar’s human rights body said it will not investigate the case of 17 villagers allegedly abducted by the government military nine months ago in war-torn Rakhine state, angering family members of the men who say they were lied to and given the runaround by authorities.
Hla Myint, chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC), said his office has declined a request by concerned lawmakers from the area where the villagers were abducted because he and other members of the body accept as truthful a Ministry of Defense statement on Oct. 22, denying that the military had arrested and detained the civilians.