Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State are concerned that the international community will withdraw humanitarian aid from the region following the military coup in Myanmar on February 1.

Dozens of civil society organisations in Arakan State released a statement on February 7 urging the Arakan National Party to reverse course regarding its decision to accept an offer for membership on the military junta’s State Administration Council.

In response to Myanmar’s February 1 coup, the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) released a statement on Sunday saying it would accept neither military dictatorship nor democratic despotism, but rather would continue its efforts to establish a genuine federal Union.

Three youth members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Arakan State’s Manaung Township said local police attempted to make them sign pledges agreeing not to protest any more, after they staged an anti-coup demonstration over the weekend.

The Arakan Front Party (AFP) has rejected an offer to join the governing body of the State Administrative Council after senior party officials reviewed the proposal.

If the Tatmadaw government holds another round of elections as it has vowed to do, the Arakan State-based Arakan National Party (ANP) and Arakan Front Party (AFP) will contest the polls, according to officials from the parties.

The Arakan National Party (ANP), the biggest Arakanese political party in Arakan State, released a statement on Thursday signalling that it would cooperate with Myanmar’s military, which seized power in a coup earlier this week.

One teenager was killed and two others were seriously injured in an explosion on Thursday in Pyin Shae village some 3 miles from Buthidaung town, Arakan State, according to local residents. 

4G mobile internet services were restored in conflict-affected parts of Arakan State on Tuesday, a day after Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup. 

Detained by the military as its coup has unfolded in recent hours, the formers Chief Minister of Arakan State U Nyi Pu, state Minister for Social Affairs Dr. Chan Tha, and state Minister for Electricity, Industry and Road Transport U Aung Kyaw Zan were released as the day played out on February 2. 

A total of 220 healthcare personnel in Paletwa Township, Chin State, are still awaiting their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, with the remote and difficult-to-access township yet to receive its first batch of vials, according to the local Department of Public Health. 

Some 400 houses were destroyed by fire in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, over the course of two years of conflict between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army, according to figures from the township administrator. 

A resident of Kalapon village in Ramree Township has been missing for almost three months after he was taken from police custody by the Tatmadaw, having been accused of desertion and terrorism, according to family members of the man. 

People with hypertension and diabetes should consult with a physician prior to getting the COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out across Myanmar, according to the Department of Public Health in Arakan State. 

Submission of a final proposal intended to put Mrauk-U on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites has been put off till next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and regional instability, officials said.

The Myanmar government’s peace negotiators and the Northern Alliance are planning to meet next month, according to the Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG), which is brokering talks between the two sides. 

The Manaung Township General Administration Department (GAD) in Arakan State said it has submitted a request to the state government to provide compensation to farmers whose lands were confiscated in the construction of a dam to supply drinking water for the township’s Pyinkauk village.

The United Nations and humanitarian partners say about 1 million people in conflict-affected parts of Myanmar are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Sixteen development organisations and ethnic farmers groups have called on the incoming government to suspend national land law reform efforts, saying the existing “central and unitary Constitution by nature contradicts customary land management systems and ignores ethnic federal demands.”