AA blocks some sea entrances in Ngapali coastal area with barbed wire
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Phyo/Thet Paing (NP News)-July 28
According to locals, the Arakan Army (AA) has blocked some of the sea outlets in the Ngapali coastal area, one of Myanmar's most iconic locations, with barbed wire.
According to local residents, since around this past April, a stretch of approximately six miles along the coastline has been fenced off with barbed wire about eight feet high, with only a single entry and exit point left open.
“The barbed wire is about eight feet high. The distance between each bar is about six inches. The barbed wire is stretched from Maday hill to Lintha beach. Near the golf club area, it wasn’t installed because of the rocky terrain. But it was installed from the Annawa guest house, where the mermaid statue is located, up to the airport. Altogether, it must be around six miles,” said a local eyewitness.
If people want to go fishing on the beach, they have to go to the Sammanchai Hotel, where the AA group is located, and ask for permission. If they want to go back to the shore, they have to go back through the hotel compound. Locals say that the AA group is living there with weapons.
“Currently, they have taken up residence at the Sammanchai Hotel and are controlling access to the beach. Except for fishing, very few people are allowed to go down. Also, some wards near the beach have not yet been allowed to stay. In areas like Jatetaw, Myapyin, and Lintha, they are not even allowed to enter the wards,” said a local.
In addition, AA members are stealing and selling items from hotels and homes along Ngapali Beach, and most of the items in the homes and hotels are now gone, according to locals.
The AA has been carrying out this barbed wire fencing on Ngapali Beach since it took control of Thandwe and destroyed the mermaid statue, one of the iconic symbols of Ngapali Beach. –