Election preparations are proceeding as planned ahead of the 2020 vote in Arakan State, where ongoing conflict has raised doubts about the feasibility of holding the polls in just a few months’ time.

A village-tract clerk of the Kyaukphyu Township General Administration Department in Arakan State was found dead this week and is believed to have been murdered, according to the township’s police force.

An investigation has been launched to root out those responsible for sending people in Bangladesh across the border illegally into northern Arakan State, according to the Maungdaw District administrator.

Internally displaced people in Arakan State are getting an early dose of monsoon season misery as recent heavy rains have flooded some IDP camps.

A couple from Shwe Kyinpyin village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township disappeared three days ago and have not been heard from since, according to residents.

The COVID-19 pandemic is confounding proposed peace talks between government negotiators and representatives of the Northern Alliance, a coalition of four ethnic armed groups including the Arakan Army, according to the Kachin Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG).

Nuns in Sittwe are feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in their alms bowls, with donations dipping in recent months as economic uncertainty and fear of viral transmission keep doors shut and pocketbooks in pockets. 

Employees of banks in Arakan State are concerned for their safety after armed robbers recently made off with about K180 million (US$124,000) from a Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank branch in downtown Sittwe.

Facing food shortages, more than 100 internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering at Alae Kyun village in the Dar Let Chaung village-tract of Ann Township, Arakan State, have relocated to Ann town, according to the manager of the No. 1 Pae Padone IDP camp in Ann town.

Cattle traders in Manaung Township, Arakan State, say they are facing hardship because they cannot export cows abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Thandwe Township Court on June 16 remanded four men including the chair of the Taungup Township Development Affairs Committee and the vice chair of the Arakan National Party for Taungup Township, according to lawyer U Tin Nyo. 

The families of several villagers in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township being detained by the Tatmadaw have called for the release of the 18 detainees — 10 from Tinmagyi village and eight from new Tinma village.

A court in Taungup Township, Arakan State, began hearing witnesses for the plaintiff in a case against five men from Sar Pyin village facing charges under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, a lawyer representing the accused told DMG.

The process of relocating internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering at school buildings in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw town began on June 14, with teachers set to be given new curricula training at schools currently inhabited by hundreds of IDPs.

Security arrangements are under renewed scrutiny in Sittwe, where a recent bank robbery has locals criticising what they say is a lack of public safety and rule of law in the Arakan State capital. 

Two young women from Kywee Tae village in Sittwe Township, Arakan State, were released from police custody on June 13, their family members said.

A suspect arrested in connection with a robbery at the Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank branch in Sittwe’s Kyaypingyi ward is being held on remand at the township court, according to his family. 

A police outpost near Done Paik village in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township was attacked just before dawn on June 13, according to residents. 

A police lieutenant from Kyauktaw Myoma police station in Arakan State was stabbed to death on Saturday afternoon, residents said.