In a decade, the Arakan Army has become one of the most powerful ethnic armed groups in Myanmar and has expanded its administrative control in Rakhine State.
AFP
The number of rape cases, including those involving children, has been on the rise in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state for the past few years amid armed conflict and ongoing political instability in the region, according to local aid groups.
Six child rape cases were reported in 2018, five in 2019, 20 in 2020, and five in the first half of 2021, according to Legal Clinic Myanmar, High Court lawyer Mya Thuzar from the Rakhine state branch office of the Legal Clinic Myanmar in Sittwe told RFA on Thursday.
“More and more child rapes are occurring, and it is very troubling for children,” said Oo Khin Thein of the Sittwe-based Rakhine Youth New Generation Network. “We are worried because we are seeing a lot of fighting and political instability and, in the midst of it all, the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
After Myanmar s Military Coup, Arakan Army Accelerates Implementation of the Way of Rakhita – The Diplomat thediplomat.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thediplomat.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Arakan Dream: The Search for Peace in Myanmar’s Rakhine State on the Verge of Civil War
Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 19 Issue: 7
(source: asianews.it)
On March 23, the Arakan Army (AA) an ethnic armed organization (EAO) based largely in Myanmar’s Rakhine State finally released a statement condemning the military’s seizure of power in the February 1 coup. AA spokesperson, Khine Thu Kha, said that the AA was “together…with the people” and would “continue to go forward for the oppressed Rakhine people” (Dhaka Star, March 23).
Up until this point, the AA had held back from issuing any kind of response to the coup, despite an increasing number of EAOs having already declared their support for the civil disobedience movement (CDM). Some groups, such as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which is one of the AA’s alliance partners, have even begun to carry out attacks against the military in retaliation (Kachin News, March 12). Similarly, when the State A