Five members of the security forces were injured when Rohingya militants ambushed a military vehicle in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Myanmar state media and officials said. The rebels also claimed responsibility for the attack.
It may be mentioned that a series of raids by the insurgents on security force posts on August 25 last year resulted in counter-insurgency operations in the Muslim-majority north of the state that led to widespread violence and arson and an exodus of some 650,000 Rohingya villagers to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Meanwhile officials from the Rathedaung Township General Administration Office said that curfew under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code was still imposed in some village-tracts in Rathedaung Township, Mizzima News has reported.
The curfew has been imposed in Rathedaung, Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships in northern Rakhine State after ARSA attacks took place in these townships.
Curfew has been imposed in 11 village-tracts of Rathedaung Township since August 25, 2017 under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code and the curfew order has been withdrawn in eight of them but the curfew order has been extended in ethnic villages of Phetlake, Chutpyin and Theintaung villages close to Maungdaw Township, according to the office on January 5.
Rathedaung Township Administrator Kyaw Thu said: “The curfew order is not yet withdrawn. We extended this order on January 3 to next month. The curfew order has been imposed in 11 village-tracts since August 25, 2017. Now the order is extended for two more months in three village tracts.”
This curfew order bans people from going outside from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until the end of February starting from January 3.
According to the curfew orders issued, the order has been extended every two months in Maungdaw Township since unrest and violent attacks erupted.