Lawsuits filed under the Counter-Terrorism Law against people for their alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA) can be dropped only with the approval of Myanmar’s Anti-Terrorism Central Committee, the spokesman of Arakan State’s military governing body has said. 

Most internally displaced people (IDPs) who fled fighting in Arakan State between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army still find themselves unwilling or unable to return home some six months after the warring sides reached an unofficial ceasefire. 

A local court in Sittwe Township on Wednesday heard the second plaintiff in a case involving four anti-war demonstrators who were arrested last year and charged with incitement and violating Myanmar’s Natural Disaster Management Law. 

The younger brother of the Arakan Army (AA) chief, Major-General Twan Mrat Naing, and seven others who were arrested in 2019 will be brought to trial via video conferencing on May 4, according to defence lawyers.

A statue believed to have been made in the likeness of an ancient king was found near the north stairways of the Kyauktaw Mahamuni Buddha image compound in Arakan State on April 26, according to members of the pagoda’s board of trustees.

The State Administration Council’s Ministry of Home Affairs on April 25 declared the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) an unlawful association.

Khami people have called for prompt action to end ongoing conflicts and for the return of displaced people to their homes, during an event marking the 11th anniversary of Khami National Day on April 27.

Four people squatting in the Arakan State capital Sittwe’s Bumay ward were charged for trespassing, but have been released on bail. 

A signboard is displaying pictures of 17 activists including prominent former student leader U Min Ko Naing as a “Wanted” list near Taungup town police station in Arakan State, residents said.

Local residents of Thinganet village, a settlement populated by ethnic Kaman people in Sittwe Township, are speaking out about the difficulty they have in accessing the Arakan State capital as Myanmar’s military has blocked the route for years.

Police arrested two women and two men living near an area known for its squatter population in the Arakan State capital Sittwe after their huts were destroyed, family members said.

Nearly a year after being arrested and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, four men including the chair of the Taungup Township Development Affairs Committee in Arakan State were acquitted on Monday, according to their lawyer. 

Salt farmers in Arakan State are struggling as the price of sea salt has declined by more than half and demand is slowing.

A festival at the Mt. Kyauktaw Pagoda in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township will be held this year, after the annual religious gathering was cancelled the past two years due to fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA).

As of April 19, a total of 70 journalists have been arrested since Myanmar’s military staged a coup on February 1, with only 32 of them released from detention so far, Burma News International (BNI) said on Friday.

Some Kyawt Paik fishing entrepreneurs have suspended their businesses as they are facing losses when fish and prawns do not fetch good prices, fishermen in Thandwe Township said.

The trials of Kyaukseik and Lekka villagers who were charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law continued as scheduled on Friday, but the court did not conduct any formal hearing of the cases.

University students in Arakan State are reportedly in discussions about whether or not they should attend when classes resume later this year.

The suspected murder of a 12-year-old girl in the Arakan State capital Sittwe remains unsolved some 10 months after the tragedy, according to relatives of the victim.