Lway Htwe, May 15, Pyin Oo Lwin
Junta’s military troops arrested six cargo truck and passenger vehicle drivers at a checkpoint in Wet Wun village, Pyin Oo Lwin township, Mandalay Region, on the border with Nawnghkio township, northern Shan State, according to a driver who witnessed the incident.
On May 10, junta troops stationed at the Wet Wun checkpoint conducted a two-hours inspection, checking vehicle licenses, driver’s licenses, and ID cards of drivers traveling from northern Shan State.
Subsequently, four truck drivers and two passenger vehicle drivers were arrested based on unspecified allegations and taken to another location.
“They inspected the line of vehicles for quite a long time. Then, they took them away, parking their vehicles on the side of road. As far as I heard, they are not released as of today. We also don’t know where they are originally from,” the witnessing driver stated.
Wet Wun is one of at least eight junta military checkpoints along the route connecting Nawnghkio, a town controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and Mandalay. Drivers report that arrests, disappearances, and extortions frequently occur at these checkpoints.
Clashes between the Myanmar military and the TNLA are frequently erupting in the area between Nawnghkio and Pyin Oo Lwin, seat of the junta’s military academies.
“Consequently, tight security some days and at certain points, the inspections are very strict. The personnel change each time we pass, and at some locations, the inspection methods are very tough,” said a woman who travels this route regularly.
Additionally, on April 21, junta troops in Pyin Oo Lwin arrested a driver and detained him for three nights, accusing him as of paying taxes to ethnic armed groups.
Translated by #KLT
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