1 April
The Tatmadaw True News Team issued a statement yesterday warning about fake news posted by AA on social media and websites.
According to the statement, following attacks on four police outposts at Ngamyinbaw, Kyaungtaung, Goappi, and Khahtila on 4 January, the AA group continued to target police stations, planted mines on the Yangon-Sittway Union Road, sent bullets in envelopes, and issued death threats to heads of police stations, administrators of wards and villagers, and killed them in attempts to harm the administrative machinery and the rule of law. It has been found that local people are being subjected to intimidation by AA, according to the statement. The AA group is taking advantage of this to carry out attacks on security forces by taking position in wards and villages, according to the statement.
Besides, after the clash with security forces, AA members have been disguising themselves as civilians and spread fake news, and forcing villagers to spread fake and fabricated information and post it on social media and websites to create misunderstanding among people, according to the statement.
Touching upon fake information being spread on social media, the statement cited a live broadcast on Facebook by a woman who identified herself as a writer and provided fake information about the killing of the head of the Teinnyo Police Station in MraukU Township at 7.30 p.m. on 23 March. Upon investigation, the authorities found that the woman, Nwe Tharki, had made the live broadcast to intentionally create a misunderstanding between the Tatmadaw and the people, according to the statement.
It was found that while the woman was from Rakhine, she was not residing in the state, but in Lashio, according to the statement. She could not be located and a case has been lodged against her at the local police station in accordance with the law.
Separately, the Head of Aukthakan Village has refuted information that two women were killed during firing by Tatmadaw forces on 29 March at the Teinnyo-Aukthakan Village incident. His clarification on the fake information was released on 29 and 30 March, according to the statement.
The statement from the Tatmadaw True News Team urged local people not to believe the fake news, information, and propaganda spread by the AA after intimidating people, and to inform the authorities and security forces about their actions in a timely manner. — MNA (Translated by Kyaw Zin)
