Arakan Army (AA) spokesman Khai Thu Kha confirmed that they have detained National League for Democracy (NLD) party Buthidaung Township Chairman Ye Thein for questioning and he was safe in their hands.

Ye Thein lost contact with party and family one day before a scheduled mass rally he was organizing to be held on December 12 to support Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi who was in The Hague facing a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“We detained Buthidaung NLD Chairman for questioning. He is safe in our hands,” Khai Thu Kha said

The AA has not disclosed when he will be released and what they say he is being questioned about.

In some places in conflict-hit Rakhine State, not only Tatmadaw (government troops) but also AA arrest and interrogate people whom they suspect of working with the other side in the conflict.

The AA has released statements which say they have already released all detainees who are not concerned with the military.

But the AA has not released NLD MP Whet Ting over one month after his arrest.

In renewed fighting which broke out again in early 2019 in Rakhine State, the number of civilians killed in the conflict has reached over a hundred.

Moreover nearly 100,000 people have fled their homes due to the conflict and have become internally displaced persons (IDPs).