Two out of three residents of Padar village in Taungup Township, Arakan State, who were arrested by security personnel on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army were released on October 6, according to family members.

The military took custody once again of a detained village administrator in the Arakan State capital Sittwe who was briefly turned over to police after his initial arrest by Tatmadaw personnel on Saturday. 

An 8-year-old boy was wounded by heavy weapons fire from a naval vessel in Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, according to the boy’s family and local villagers. 

Three Muslim men were shot dead near U Soe Tint Bridge in Minbya Township, Arakan State, on October 5, according to local residents, who said Tatmadaw troops also arrested three people from U Soe Tint Ward.

Two villagers were killed and another was seriously wounded in a clash involving the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) about 1 mile from Pyin Shay (Muslim) village in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township on October 5, locals said. 

As regional COVID-19 infection rates continue to rise, Arakan State’s Mrauk-U District is in need of more healthcare workers, according to local health officials.

A brawl broke out in the village of Kywe Htoe, Ponnagyun Township, this week after the village administrator allegedly misappropriated funds provided by the government for low-income families in the village.  

An internally displaced person (IDP) sheltering at Saphokyun Kanpyin IDP camp in Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, was shot amid a barrage of gunfire reportedly from a naval vessel stationed nearby on October 5, according to locals. 

Ward and village administrators are drawing attention to the case of a fellow administrator from Tawkan village in Arakan State’s Sittwe Township who was recently arrested by Tatmadaw troops.  

The Maungdaw District election subcommission has annulled the 2020 candidacy of a Muslim man who had been contesting the Pyithu Hluttaw seat for Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, with the unexpected decision coming after he was issued paperwork certifying his eligibility. 

More than 70 civil society organisations have issued a joint statement condemning legal actions taken against students who staged recent anti-government protests demanding an end to conflict and the restoration of internet access in Arakan and Chin states. 

A recent Tatmadaw announcement that two arrested residents of Theintan village in Sittwe Township are members of the Arakan Army has been rejected by the detainees’ families.

Hostilities between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) have reportedly intensified in Rathedaung and Minbya townships amid persistent concern among local residents about an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 in Arakan State.

Two campaign signboards for the Arakan National Party in Taungup Township’s Maei town were destroyed on October 2, according to the ANP, the latest examples of election-related vandalism in Arakan State during the general election’s canvassing period.

A ward administrator in Mrauk-U was forced to flee home after a man who described himself as a Myanmar military officer accused him of supplying food and funds to the Arakan Army (AA).

Tatmadaw troops took into their custody the administrator of Tawkan village in Arakan State’s Sittwe Township on October 3, according to his family members. 

Some Arakan State residents have complained that they are unable to check revised voter lists online, as the Union Election Commission (UEC) has advised in light of coronavirus stay-at-home orders, with restrictions on internet access still hobbling much of the state.

The Arakan State election subcommission has instructed prison officials to ensure that eligible inmates are able to vote freely in the upcoming general election, according to the subcommission.

Authorities in the Arakan State capital Sittwe have warned that as of the second week in October, legal action will be taken against anyone found outside of their home without special “permission cards” that will be issued to each household in the coming days.