Residents of Ye-U Township in Sagaing Region abandon their homes after a raid by junta troops last month. / Ye -U refugee support group
Residents of Ye-U and Tabayin townships in Sagaing Region are facing serious hardship after the regime banned them from entering Ye-U town unless they can show a recommendation letter from local authorities.
According to an order imposed by the regime last week, residents must pay 10,000 kyats (US$ 4) to policemen and Ye-U town administrators to get a recommendation letter, Tabayin residents said.
“The recommendation letter is valid for only one week. Residents of villages on the border of Ye-U and Tabayin are in trouble because of the order,” a local from Let Yat Kone village in Tabayin Township told The Irrawaddy.
Thousands of residents from around 50 villages in both townships travel to Ye-U town to buy goods and sell them in the surrounding area. However, these traders have not been able to visit Ye-U since last week because of the new rule, a Ye-U resident said.
“Residents are barred from entering Ye-U town if they don’t have a recommendation letter. This has affected local commerce,” a Ye-U resident told The Irrawaddy.
People in Sagaing Region are also experiencing difficulties when applying for National Registration Cards, according to a Tabayin Township resistance fighter.
“Although there is no need to show a recommendation letter to enter Tabayin town, regime troops in the town are using various excuses to abuse locals both mentally and physically,” the resistance member told The Irrawaddy.
Ye-U town is in Ye-U district, which borders Tabayin and Taze.
Ye-U is among the Sagaing townships where rural areas are controlled by people’s defense forces (PDFs). Junta troops control only the town, where they are subject to frequent attacks by PDFs.
Meanwhile, junta forces use Ye-U town as a base to raid and burn down villages in Ye-U and Tabayin townships.
The regime has waged an indiscriminate campaign of arson attacks and airstrikes against armed groups and civilians over the past two years in Sagaing, a stronghold of the resistance movement.
