A proposal in the Arakan State Hluttaw on January 11 urged the union government via its Arakan State counterpart to rescind the designation of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army as terrorist groups in order to build eternal peace. 

Forty-three civil society organisations (CSOs) including prominent signatories Athan, Land in Our Hands, Rakhine Youth New Generation Network, Rakhine Ethnics Congress and Generation Wave, issued a joint statement on January 10 demanding that recent lawsuits against human rights activists be withdrawn.

Tatmadaw soldiers have been accused of taking 700 baskets of paddy in Marlar (Arakan) village, Kyauktaw Township, while residents there were fleeing the Arakan State conflict.

 One woman was killed and nine others were injured by an explosion on January 10 in Sabar Htar village, Minbya Township, according to local villagers. 

Five out of 99 Muslims being detained at a facility on the University of Computer Studies campus in Yangon Region’s Shwepyithar Township tested positive for COVID-19, according to U Yan Aung Min, a Yangon Region lawmaker. 

The Tatmadaw has not given security guarantees for prospective make-up elections in Arakan State constituencies where voting was cancelled on November 8, according to U Zaw Htay, a spokesman for the President’s Office. 

The rate of COVID-19 infection has declined significantly in Arakan State since December, according to the state Department of Public Health. 

A bus terminal and night market will be built in Ngapali town, which hosts the popular beach of the same name in Thandwe Township, in an effort to bolster area tourism, said U Ye Aung Moe, manager of the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism in Arakan State.

Amazing Ngapali Resort, a well-known hotel in the Arakan State beach town of Ngapali, is under lockdown after a guest tested positive for COVID-19. 

A total of 362 people were arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army during the two years of fighting between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed group in Arakan State, according to data compiled by the Thazin Legal Institute. 

Ethnic groups in Arakan State are asking that the Arakan National Party (ANP), which won the most seats in Arakan in the November 8 general election, be allowed to form the state government.              

U Zaw Htay, a spokesman for the President’s Office, said the government would discuss ceasefire prospects with the four ethnic armies of the Northern Alliance on a case-by-case basis. 

Myanmar’s military (or Tatmadaw) and police are conducting investigations into the death of a Kyauktaw resident whose dismembered body was found along a riverbank in the township after the Tatmadaw’s alleged abduction of him last July. 

The Tatmadaw True News Information Team released a statement on January 7 urging the relevant organisations to hold make-up elections soonest in nine Arakan State townships and in Mongkaing Township, Shan State, where voting was cancelled in November. 

Myanmar’s Ministry of Education has instructed basic education schools in Arakan State to prepare for the resumption of classes in line with COVID-19 prevention regulations, said the state’s Head of Education Office.

A campaign was launched in Arakan State’s Ann Township on January 6 to demand the unconditional release of all Arakanese people arrested under various sections of the law. 

Ninety-nine Muslims who were arrested on January 6 in Shwepyithar Township, Yangon Region, will be tested for COVID-19 and are currently under quarantine at the University of Computer Studies in Shwepyithar, local lawmaker U Yan Aung Min told DMG.

A joint team including Tatmadaw and police personnel as well as township and ward administrators will “inspect” 15 camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mrauk-U Township, with camp managers anticipating that the visits will focus on why the IDPs present have not returned to their homes. 

The government has offered to meet with the four Northern Alliance members, including the Arakan Army (AA), in hopes of reaching a ceasefire agreement as soon as this month, according to U Lamai Gun Jar, a member of the Peace-talk Creation Group.