The Myanmar military has detained more than 20 residents including students in Mrauk-U since Monday night, after the Arakan Army (AA) detained three military intelligence officers in the town earlier Monday.

The Arakan Army (AA) has called on the people of Arakan State to be wary of the military junta, which it accused of stoking racial and religious tensions in the region following the disappearance and apparent kidnapping of two educators in Maungdaw Township. 

Family members are worried about the health of a man and woman in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu who were charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code for allegedly raising funds for the Arakan Army (AA).

The Myanmar military on Tuesday night released four women of more than 20 residents it detained in Kyauktaw Township earlier that day in response to the Arakan Army’s detention of junta soldiers, said residents.

One of two women from a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Paletwa Township, Chin State, who were injured in a landmine blast, has been admitted to Sittwe General Hospital and her condition is considered life-threatening, according to family members.

Eight basic education schools in Rathedaung Township have closed down as staff there showed their dissatisfaction with the regime’s handling of the kidnapping of two teachers in Maungdaw Township last week. 

The relatives of seven detained residents in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township are concerned about their safety as their whereabouts are still unknown five days after the arrests.

Two policemen from Kyauknimaw police outpost in Arakan State’s Ramree Township were arrested by a group of seven people at around 12 noon on June 22, according to local police.

More than 71 percent of basic education students had received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination as of June 19, according to the Arakan State Education Office.

Schools in urban areas of Kyauktaw were closed on Tuesday after junta soldiers questioned and detained residents across the town. The Arakan Army (AA) detained three policemen in Kyauktaw on Monday. 

Arakanese politicians and teachers have criticised the way the Arakan State Administration Council is handling the kidnapping of a school principal and female teacher last week.

The Myanmar military reportedly blocked the Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road after the Arakan Army detained a junta soldier on June 16, causing difficulties for travellers, transporters and locals.

The Myanmar military detained Ko Zaw Win aka Ludu Zaw Win, a political and social activist in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, on Tuesday morning. 

Mud crabs and crayfish without white-spot syndrome virus (WSSV) have been allowed to re-export from Arakan State to China, according to the state’s Fisheries Department.

The Arakan Army detained three policemen from Kyauktaw Myoma police station at about 6 p.m. on Monday, according to locals. 

Internally displaced people (IDPs) driven from their homes by past military conflict in Arakan State — and kept in displacement camps by fear of renewed hostilities — called for an end to fighting in Myanmar on World Refugee Day, which falls on June 20. 

The Karen National Union (KNU), one of the oldest ethnic armed groups (EAOs) in Myanmar, said the regime has twice now invited EAOs to peace talks because it is overwhelmed by the fallout from last year’s military coup. 

A school principal and a teacher were kidnapped by a group of unknown men last week, and the spokesman for the regime’s Arakan State Administration Council said he had no knowledge of any developments in the case. 

Arakan Army (AA) spokesman U Khaing Thukha has confirmed that the ethnic armed group has detained junta soldiers in retaliation for the regime’s arrest of AA members.