President U Win Myint urged all national races to unite and participate in efforts to build a peaceful, democratic federal union and to amend the Constitution, in a message marking the 72nd anniversary of Myanmar’s independence on January 4.

The commander-in-chief of the Defence Services, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said the Tatmadaw has resorted to addressing problems via military means because the leaders of some ethnic armed groups are not sufficiently committed to peace.

The Arakan Army (AA) has said that there were at least 681 clashes lasting longer than 30 minutes between its forces and the Tatmadaw in Arakan State last year.

Travellers are increasingly opting for waterways over land routes as they make their way around Arakan State, where active armed conflict and tightened security have made overland options less appealing, according to manager of Shwe Pyi Tan Express Boat Service in Sittwe.

Two police officers from the Thazinmyaing Border Guard outpost in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, have been detained by the Arakan Army (AA), according to a January 4 statement from the ethnic armed group, which alleged that the two men were found in possession of yaba tablets at the time of their arrest.

Arakan State MP U Naing Kywe Aye is again spotlighting illegal shoreline construction of hotels at Ngapali Beach in Arakan State, with the lawmaker asking why action has not yet been taken against the hoteliers more than eight months after he first raised the issue in the legislature.

A motion urging the local government to assist farmers who are struggling to harvest and store their crops due to ongoing clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) was approved by the Arakan State assembly on January 2.

“The local government needs to supply local people who have been charged by the Tatmadaw with necessary assistance because they face many difficulties. In addition, families of the victims of conflict and injured people should be furnished with assistance,”

“They were wrongfully arrested. We don’t have any ties to the Arakan Army. We are ordinary people and we have never seen the Arakan Army. I feel happy and sad at the same time for those who were released from prison,”

All of Myanmar’s ethnic people should nourish the union spirit to strengthen unity and cooperation among each other, the speaker of the Arakan State parliament, U San Kyaw Hla, said during a session of the regional parliament in Sittwe on January 2.

Three ethnic armed groups from the Northern Alliance have extended by two months a unilateral ceasefire with the government that the trio had initially declared in September 2019, in an effort to jumpstart peace talks and create a peaceful environment for elections slated to take place later this year.

A proposal urging the state government to arrange more effective protection for civilians as armed clashes have wracked Arakan State in recent months was approved by the state legislature on December 31.

“The day we reach our goal is the day we get our sovereignty,” Saw Mya Yazar Lin, a Central Executive Committee member of the ALP, told DMG.

The Agricultural Science Institute in Kyauktaw town has temporarily closed after bullets riddled the school compound earlier this week, Daw Khin Lei Lwin, the institute’s principal, told DMG.

The Arakan Army (AA) has stated that 16 car drivers who were detained by the ethnic armed group in Rathedaung Township were released at around 7 a.m. on January 1.

The Arakan Army (AA) stopped an express ferry near Sapho Island in Rathedaung Township at around 2 p.m. on December 31 and abducted 16 passengers on board, said U Aung Linn, an official from the Arakan branch of Inland Water Transport.

“The AA shot at security forces with small arms around 7:30 p.m. last night. We didn’t respond to them. If we had returned fire, the whole of Kyauktaw town would be ash,” he said. “We, the Tatmadaw, are doing everything with a big heart. That’s why we didn’t shoot back.”

Dar Latt village tract is situated along the shared border of Ann and Myebon townships, about 30 miles from the town of Ann. Clashes between the Tatmadaw and the AA were first reported near Dar Latt village on December 25.

Riding bicycles and wearing blue tops, a group of 20 young people sought to peddle their way to peace on the evening of December 29, launching a “search for justice in Arakan State” campaign in the state capital Sittwe.