The Arakan Army (AA) has denied detaining 15 civilians from southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township, saying that it has only six military informants in its custody.
Speaking to Myanmar Now on Wednesday, the group’s spokesperson, Khaing Thukha, disputed claims by the Interim Khumi Affairs Coordination Council (IKACC) that it was holding 15 ethnic Chin people captive.
“It’s not true that we are holding 15 Chin locals prisoners as implied in the IKACC’s statement. However, there are six locals who are in our custody for reasons that have nothing to do with them being Chin,” he said.
He was speaking in response to a statement released by the IKACC last Thursday, in which the group, which represents the Khumi, a Chin ethnicity, called on the AA to immediately release the civilians to “prevent unnecessary misunderstanding.”
“Investigations showed that the people who were captured were just regular civilians, who were not important enough for the AA to hold them captive and interrogate them,” the IKACC said in its statement.
According to Khaing Thukha, however, the six civilians currently in detention had been acting as military informants prior to their arrest.
“We are only holding them prisoner because of the crimes they committed. All six of them are military informants and we had to detain them as their actions put the security of our organisation at risk,” he said.
He added that the six prisoners were being held under humane conditions and that those who wanted to see them could do so by contacting the officer on duty for the area.
“Their families and friends are allowed to visit them. We haven’t imposed any restrictions in this matter,” said Khaing Thukha.
Myanmar Now has not been able to see the list of 15 people that the IKACC claims were captured or any details relating to the six that the AA has admitted to having in its custody.
While the AA has been capturing alleged military informants in Paletwa, the military has also been arresting people that it suspects of having connections with the AA.
Tensions have been high between the junta and the AA in Paletwa Township since the two sides clashed near Ah Baung Thar, a village about 6km west of the town of Paletwa, in June.
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