More than 210 government employees in Chin state have resigned in recent months in fear of their safety after allegedly being threatened by the Arakan Army.
The walk-outs happened in Paletwa, an area whose MP was held captive for two months by the AA before being freed on Monday.
Two-hundred-and-six quit in the last few months of 2019 and five more have left this month, Chin state’s municipal affairs minister Soe Htet told Myanmar Now.
The AA has threatened a total of 180 people in the area, he added, but did not give further details about the alleged threats.
The group’s spokesperson, Khine Thukha, said its soldiers had not threatened anyone innocent.
“We never threaten those who do not have connections with the military,” he told Myanmar Now.
The five most recent government employees to resign in fear were primary school teachers and schools have closed because of a lack of staff as a result of these and other resignations, said Soe Htet.
“It is not safe even in the town. It is worse in the rural areas. They don’t dare to stay or go there,” he said.
Many village administrators and residents threatened by AA have fled their villages, he added.
Khine Thukha countered that it is normal for locals to abandon their homes because of ongoing fighting and the government should not blame the AA for it.
Instead, the government should ask the military to stop its attacks, he added.
The AA is active in the region between Paletwa and Kyauktaw in Rakhine state and has taken dozens of people captive there in the past year.
In November last year the group detained 10 people including Paletwa township MP Hawi Tin and five Indian nationals.
The AA freed Hawi Tin on Monday in what it said was an effort to promote national reconciliation.
Paletwa Township’s general administrator Koe Aung said he was still concerned about security despite regular patrols by the police and Tatmadaw in Paletwa.
Paletwa has been under a dusk-till-dawn curfew since early November.
