Youths in Arakan State have been collecting donations for the victims of a large fire in Thantlang town, Chin State, that was set by the Myanmar military late last month.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance ethnic armed group coalition, which includes the Arakan Army, released a statement on November 1 strongly condemning the actions of the Myanmar military against the Chin State town of Thantlang, where more than 100 homes and two churches burnt down in a Tatmadaw shelling. 

Arakan political parties, civil society organisations and residents have criticised the recent holding of pro-military rallies in Arakan State.

Basic education schools in Arakan State and across most of the country, which were closed for more than three months due to the third wave of Covid-19, reopened on November 1 in accordance with virus-related regulations. 

A clash broke out between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Border Guard Police (BGP) near old Zee Bin Chaung village in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, on October 31, residents said. 

The All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) issued a statement on November 1 saying it would join anti-military forces to fight for an end to dictatorship in Myanmar, with the announcement made on the 33rd anniversary of the ABSDF’s founding. 

A young writer from Pan Maw village in Mrauk-U Township, who has been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, appeared before the Mrauk-U Township Court for a second time.

Arrangements are being made to drop the cases of 36 people charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law in Arakan State, according to U Hla Thein, information officer and attorney-general for the Arakan State Administration Council. 

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Paletwa, Chin State, report that efforts are underway to get them to go back home, sometimes through subsidies in what they say amounts to return arrangements that are semi-voluntary at best.

The Arakan State-based Arakan Front Party (AFP) will attend a meeting being organised by the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) to discuss electoral system reform, including a potential switch to proportional representation (PR). 

A total of 98 major criminal cases were reported in Arakan State through the first nine months of 2021, figures from the state’s Myanmar Police Force (MPF) showed, on pace for a significant reduction compared with last year’s 180 cases.

Women’s civil society organisations have called for effective action against rapists, and dozens of female protesters in one Arakan State town took to the streets on Saturday demanding the closure of local pubs, saying excessive drinking among the men there was contributing to crimes including violence against women.

Some villages no more than 10 miles from the Arakan State capital Sittwe have experienced delays gaining access to the electricity supply, villagers said.  

Family members are worried about the health condition of U Than Naing, a resident of Sar Pyin village in Arakan State’s Taungup Township, who has been facing trial on Counter-Terrorism Law charges for more than a year. 

A young writer from Pan Maw village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township, who has been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, appeared before the Mrauk-U Township Court for a second time on October 29. 

There have been only 12 cases of motorbike theft filed at police stations in Arakan State this year despite anecdotal evidence of frequent motorbike thefts statewide, according to the Myanmar Police Force in the state. 

Schools that have been closed since July 9 due to the Covid-19 pandemic will reopen on November 1, Myanmar’s military regime has announced. 

Residents are urging local authorities to intervene to halt the construction of a filling station and oil storage tank in Kaing Shay ward, a residential area in Taungup, Arakan State. 

Zat pwe troupes in Arakan State, which had suspended their performances and other entertainment offerings due to some two years of fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army, are beginning to return to the state’s cultural milieu, according to troupe owners.