Troops raid homes in Hpa Do in search of alleged suspects, arresting family members and neighbours when the individuals in question could not be located.
More than 20 locals were arrested over two days following an explosion outside the military council’s ward administration office in Hpa Do, Bago Region this week.
Soon after the explosion occurred on Tuesday morning, police and soldiers arrived at the scene. A second explosion then took place, damaging the armed forces’ vehicles.
“Not long after the bomb went off, police cars showed up. They were shooting. Usually it would take about 10 minutes to get to the administrator’s office from the police station, but they showed up really quick,” a local told Myanmar Now.
“In the evening, they started arresting people they suspected [of being behind the explosion],” he added.
The military raided a home in Ward 5 at 2am on Wednesday. When they could not find the individual they were looking for, they reportedly arrested his brother and sister.
In the afternoon, former Hpa Do administrator Hla Aye and a local volunteer were also arrested.
The military raided Ward 1 in search of another man and detained his neighbours when he could not be located, the local source explained.
“They surrounded the house, carrying guns. When there was no one there, they took people from the house next door—for no reason,” he said.
Locals say the military raided several houses in Hpa Do again on Friday.
Family members of those detained say that they have had no contact with their relatives in junta custody.
“Why they were arrested, where they are now, we don’t know anything. Absolutely nothing,” a family member told Myanmar Now.
The military council has not made any statements regarding the arrests.
The military council’s armed forces crushed a protest held in Hpa Do on March 27, now known as Anti-Fascist Revolution Day. At least one civilian was killed and many more injured. The momentum of the town’s anti-dictatorship movement decreased after the crackdown.
At least 10 young people were arrested by the regime’s forces after another explosion occurred on the Yangon-Mandalay railway in Bago’s Kanyutkwin Town on June 10.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has reported that 4,999 civilians have been arrested and 196 sentenced as of June 19 since the coup.
source myanmar-now