The State Administration Council (SAC) released nine people this week who were arrested for protesting against Myanmar’s military dictatorship in the Arakan State townships of Taungup, Gwa and Manaung. 

Out of 52 journalists arrested across Myanmar by the State Administration Council (SAC), 17 have been released and 35 remain in detention, according to Myanmar Press Freedom In-Depth, a group that has compiled a list of detained reporters. 

Trading through the Sittwe border trade centre to Bangladesh has resumed since October 16, but the Maungdaw border trade centre could not be reopened as of October 18, according to traders in Maungdaw Township. 

A case involving five men from Kyaukseik village and its vicinity in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, who were arrested on suspicion of having links to the Arakan Army (AA) and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, has been delayed due to the absence of a prosecution witness. 

A Covid-19 vaccination campaign targeting more than 120,000 students aged 12 and above from 10 townships in the northern part of Arakan State will begin on October 17, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.

The opening of the May Yu Shopping Complex, which is under construction in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, is targeted for April of next year, according to U Tin Aung Oo, managing director of Western Shining Star, the company responsible for the development.

A young man from Pan Maw village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township was arrested on October 15 and accused of having ties to the anti-regime People’s Defence Force, according to family members. 

Three out of nine residents of Lamu, Kamar and Sarpyin villages in Arakan State’s Taungup Township, who had been facing terrorism charges, were reportedly released on Friday evening.

Forty-seven people who were arrested on suspicion of illegal affiliations with the Arakan Army (AA) and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law have been released, according to Arakan State civil society organisations. 

Arakan State-based political parties and civil society organisations say they have not yet decided whether to attend a meeting with the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) to discuss election systems to be adopted for future polls. 

Despite six years having passed since the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, ethnic people’s expectations have not been met, the Peace Process Steering Team, which is formed of the 10 ethnic armed organisations that have signed the NCA, said on October 15.

The Karen National Union (KNU) on October 15 issued a statement marking the sixth anniversary of the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, in which it called for the regime council to transfer power to a federal government to end political conflicts that have been occurring for more than seven decades.

A final appeal in the case of more than 20 Lekka villagers in Mrauk-U Township, who were arrested on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army (AA) and have been facing trial for more than two years, will be heard at their next court hearing, according to a lawyer involved.

An ancient pagoda in San Ko Taung village, Buthidaung Township, was reportedly damaged during fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) from 2018-2020, with local villagers and religious leaders saying the military is currently stationed at the pagoda, making repairs difficult. 

Marking the sixth anniversary of the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) on October 15, Myanmar’s military regime announced that it was dropping charges against 114 people arrested on suspicion of having illegal ties to ethnic armed groups, including both NCA signatories and non-signatories. 

Quarry mining in Taungup Township, Arakan State, has caused cracks at a nearby monastery and pagoda, according to U Wunna Thiri, abbot of the Thayet Taung Monastery.

Action will be taken against those who are mining sand at Point Beach in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, according to U Kyaw Lwin, the Sittwe Township administrator.

As forest coverage decreases in Arakan State, the socioeconomic impacts on local residents rise, according to the affected populations.

A final appeal in the case of more than 20 Lekka villagers in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township, who were arrested on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army (AA) and have been facing trial for more than two years, will be heard at the next court hearing, according to a lawyer involved.