A court in Arakan State’s Taungup Township on Friday officially charged four men including a former municipal committee chairman under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law over their alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA).

Eighteen people from Tinma Gyi and Tinma (Ywar Thit) villages in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, remain missing nearly a year after they were arrested on March 13 and 16 of 2020.

Express boat lines in Arakan State that were suspended for more than six months due to COVID-19 were allowed to resume as of February 25, according to U San Maw Thein, manager of the Shwe Pyi Tan express boat line.   

Landmine clearance work will be carried out in the Arakan State townships where internally displaced people (IDPs) have registered to return home, according to Colonel Min Than, a member of the Arakan State Administration Council. 

A couple sheltering at a displacement camp in Sittwe after being wounded in fighting between the military and Arakan Army in Rathedaung Township are in need of financial assistance to have shrapnel surgically removed from their bodies.

Four members of the Arakan National Party (ANP) have submitted resignation letters after a top party official took a seat on the State Administration Council (SAC), the governing body set up by Myanmar’s military following its February 1 coup.

A court in Ann Township, Arakan State, has reportedly levied fines of K80,000 ($57) each for seven locals accused of participating in a protest against the military coup earlier this month. 

The relatives of four people who were arrested over a protest against the military regime in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township last week say police are not allowing them to visit the detainees.

Some workers who were working to repair a border fence at a location between mileposts 36 and 37 at Taung Pyo, in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, stepped on a landmine on February 22 and were injured.

A recent directive aimed to reopen all basic education schools in Arakan State on February 22, but not for all teachers to attend the school. In fact, the directive urged them to make preparations to be ready for the opening of schools, said U Tin Thein, Arakan State education officer.

Forty-eight residents of Mrauk-U town, Arakan State, were released on Monday morning after being detained by police overnight, members of the group said.

Charged with incitement under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, the detained former chief minister of Arakan State, U Nyi Pu, appeared via video link for a court hearing in the state capital Sittwe on Monday.

The relatives of detainees charged for their alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA) have called for speedy trials for the accused.

Out of 68 hotels, motels and guesthouses in Arakan State’s Thandwe District that closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 18 have been able to resume operations to date, according to the district’s Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.

A resident of Taungup Township, Arakan State, has been charged with incitement and violating the Natural Disaster Management Law in connection with his opposition to Myanmar’s military government.

The Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) of the 10 ethnic armed groups that are signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) announced on February 20 that it would suspend political talks with Myanmar’s military government.

Former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu and several election sub-commission officials from townships in the state have been detained by the Tatmadaw for more than a week, according to their families. 

The initial hearings of two Manaung Township residents charged for protesting the military takeover will be held on February 25, according to their family members.

More than 13,400 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State have registered with authorities to return to their homes from displacement camps, according to the Arakan State Administration Council.