The United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) has again arrested five residents of Wetma village in Samee, Paletwa Township, Chin State, accusing them of having links to the Chinland Defense Force (CDF-Paletwa), according to local sources.
At around 10 am on 14 October, Mro Chin people aged between 30 and 40—U Aye Lun, U Kyar Lone, U Win Kyi, U Kyin Wat and U Na Naw—were taken by a Honda boat to the ULA/AA camp in Samee, accusing them of having links to the CDF-Paletwa, some locals said.
A Paletwa local said: “Members of the CDF-Paletwa briefly visited their friends in Wetma village after returning from another area. The ULA/AA arrested them for allegedly funding the CDF.
However, not everyone arrested was from the houses that CDF members visited. Only two people are from the houses where CDF members visited.”
Residents claimed that those arrested were ordinary civilians with no links to the CDF-Paletwa.
Some residents of Paletwa said that Dr. Aye Kyaw, the acting medical superintendent of Paletwa Hospital, was arrested by ULA/AA on 29 September, but was released on bail on 9 October, about 10 days later. He is currently under house arrest.
Dr. Aye Kyaw was threatened during his arrest and interrogation. Some residents said they did not know why he was arrested and released by the ULA/AA.
Dr. Aye Kyaw, a dentist who was previously self-employed, was appointed by the ULA/AA as the superintendent of Paletwa Hospital after it took control of the area.
The two locals arrested alongside Dr. Aye Kyaw have not yet been released.
According to a list compiled by the Interim Khumi Affairs Consultative Council (IKACC), the ULA/AA has detained nearly 30 Chin people for allegedly supporting the Chin resistance forces in Paletwa Township.