Arakan State News Summary (November 23-30, 2022)

By DMG 30 Nov 2022

23 November

 Since renewed fighting erupted between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in August, 23 houses were razed by artillery strikes and junta arson attacks in Arakan State.
 A Khami New Year event was observed at the Town Hall in Mrauk-U, where the number of people in attendance was reportedly low due to ongoing concerns about the regional security environment and travel barriers.
 IDPs fleeing armed conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in Arakan State haven’t received support from international organisations such as the WFP and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for two months.
 The plaintiff in the case against political and social activist Ko Zaw Win aka Ludu Zaw Win, who has been charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, could not attend a court hearing, with the hearing postponed for the seventh time.
 The regime released Ko Michael, U Tun Shwe and U Myint Htwe, who were arrested by the military in Taungup in the first week of November, on November 19 and 22.
 A resident of Kathae Ward in Sittwe was abducted from his home by junta soldiers, locals said.
 An internally displaced person (IDP) from Buddhawmaw Monastery in the Arakan State capital Sittwe was receiving medical treatment after being tortured during military interrogation, according to family members.

24 November

 U San Ko, an Arakanese composer and owner of the Arakan Ar Mahn bus gate in Arakan State’s Thandwe, who was charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act earlier this month, appeared in court.
 Myanmar’s military regime imposed limits on the amount of fuel, cement and pharmaceuticals that ferry boats operating on the Sittwe-Pauktaw route can carry from the former to the latter, according to boatmen and passengers.
 More than 10,000 local people from Darletchaung Village-tract in Ann Township are facing food shortages and rising food prices as the Myanmar military has imposed a ban on food supplies into the area.

25 November

 To commemorate International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which falls on December 3, sporting events were held at the Danyawaddy sports grounds in Sittwe.
 Family members are worried about the well-being of a university student and a motorcycle taxi driver who were detained at the Kyeinchaung security checkpoint in Maungdaw, Arakan State, on November 1, as they have not been in contact with the pair for nearly a month.
 Merchants said the military council has restricted the trade of goods from Maungdaw to Bangladesh for four months, and the local people are suffering a lot.
 The Myanmar military detained a ward administrator in Kyaukphyu Township, according to locals.
 The price of medicine has increased approximately threefold in Arakan State, where the military council has restricted the transportation of medicines.
 The historical Sandawshin Pagoda festival, which is held in Arakan State every year from the 7th Waxing of Nadaw to 1 Waning of Nandaw, is not planned to be held this year due to the local security situation, according to the Pagoda Board of Trustees.

26 November

 Local residents in Arakan State have called on authorities to assign more specialists to treat certain medical problems at the 500-bed Sittwe General Hospital.
 Family members are concerned about the safety of seven people detained at a junta security checkpoint near the village of Kansauk in Kyauktaw Township.
 The military regime seized nine boats moored near Min Chaung Bridge in Sittwe, and also detained nine people including some of the owners and helmsmen of those vessels. Of them, seven boat owners were fined K500,000 each by the Sittwe Township Court. Two boat owners from Rathedaung Township have been charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act for allegedly paying taxes to the Arakan Army (AA).
 The Myanmar military and the AA have observed an informal ceasefire since November 26, U Khaing Thukha said that day. U Khaing Thukha also said that the ceasefire was reached with serious consideration for the people of Arakan State.

27 November

 Myanmar’s military regime has yet to lift travel restrictions on multiple roads and waterways despite its recently brokered ceasefire with the Arakan Army (AA), according to local residents.
 Sittwe electricity authorities have warned that local residents will have to bear costs of repair in case of the theft of electric cables in their wards. Local residents criticised the order.

28 November

 A total of 324 innocent civilians were detained and only 85 of them have been released, the AA spokesman said at an online press conference.
 The AA spokesman said at least 26 civilians in Arakan State were killed and 111 others were injured by Myanmar military artillery strikes, gunfire and other conflict-related violence from September 20 to November 27.
 Six people in a family from Thethtin Village, part of Kyauktaw Township, reportedly died from food poisoning after eating corn from a local market on November 26.
 Reports of violence against women and children have increased in Arakan State when compared with last year, according to legal aid organisations and women’s activist groups.
 Kandawgyi Lake, a major source of water supply for the Arakan State capital Sittwe, is drying up as 2022 comes to a close, and the lake is expected to be functionally devoid of water during the coming hot season, according to local residents.
 A 16-year-old boy from Chan Village in Thandwe Township was struck dead by lightning, according to family members.
 The ULA/AA plans to open nursing schools, and U Khaing Thukha invited public health workers to work as nurses at Monday’s press conference.

29 November

 Despite the latest ceasefire between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA), displaced people say they dare not return to their homes for the time being.
 The Arakan Army (AA) and local business owners have stressed the importance of self-sufficiency to avoid food shortages and high food prices.

30 November

 At least 46 people were arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) and charged under the Unlawful Associations Act and/or incitement charges under Sections 505(a) and (b) of the Penal Code during four months of heightened military tensions between the military and AA in Arakan State.
 Government employees in Ponnagyun Township did not receive their November salaries as the regime continued to blockade the Sittwe-Ponnagyun road despite the recent ceasefire agreement.
 Three women who planned to sell two 21-year-old twin sisters from the same village to a Chinese man for exploitative wages were sentenced to 10 years in prison each, with hard labour, for human trafficking.