Several arrests have been reported in the aftermath of a “silent strike” protest against Myanmar’s military regime, which was observed by millions of people on February 1, the one-year anniversary of the coup that toppled the country’s elected government. 

Of the estimated 2.4 million people in Arakan State, 1.5 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan 2022 published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) late last month.

Three teenagers were injured in a blast from an explosive remnant of war (ERW) outside Kyaung Taung village, in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township, on Tuesday afternoon. 

Family members are demanding justice and answers following the murder of a 10-year-old girl outside a Muslim village in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State.

A clash reportedly broke out between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Tuesday morning at Labawwa, about two miles from Thit Tone Nar Gwa Sone village in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State. 

The civilian death toll attributed to Myanmar’s military coup stood at 1,503 on Monday, the eve of the putsch’s one-year anniversary, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said in a January 31 statement.

Marking the one-year anniversary of Myanmar’s coup on February 1, a “silent strike” observed by millions of people across the country is being called a success by participants. 

The Myanmar junta’s extension of a State of Emergency for another six months has raised criticism in some quarters, with the announcement coming on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the military seizing power in a coup on February 1, 2021.

Military veterans and their family members held pro-Tatmadaw rallies in several Arakan State townships on Monday, but disapproving residents in the state say the demonstrations were not reflective of broader regional sentiment.

Some of the 31 detained youths who were arrested last week at Kyein Chaung checkpoint in Maungdaw Township were released on January 31, according to U Hla Thein, a spokesperson for the Arakan State regime council. 

A motorbike dealer from the Arakan State town of Thandwe has been arrested on suspicion of financing the anti-regime People’s Defence Forces (PDFs).

Events commemorating the 237th anniversary of the fall of the Arakan Kingdom were held at Pyin Chaung village in Myebon Township, Arakan State, on January 30 and 31.

Residents of Kaing Shay ward in Taungup, Arakan State, staged a protest on Sunday morning against ongoing construction of a filling station in the residential area.

The number of cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Myanmar reached 283 on January 28, as the Ministry of Health reported no deaths attributed to Covid-19 for the fifth consecutive day.

Fighting between a coalition led by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar military has been ongoing in the country’s north in recent days, according to local sources.

Three people were killed and two others were injured when a timber truck overturned in Nga Pyaw Daw village, Taungup Township, according to residents.

Concerns have been raised by locals in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township following reports of gunfire in the vicinity of Ngakyidaunt village on Saturday morning.

Ahead of a planned, nationwide “silent strike” to protest the one-year anniversary of Myanmar’s military coup, members of the junta have distributed leaflets warning locals in Kyauktaw, Arakan State, to refrain from participating in such activities.

The ANC leader made the remarks at the first-ever People’s Conference convened by the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) on January 27.