"Between January 5 and 16, 2019, there were eight clashes and five landmine explosions," said Major General Tun Tun Nyi, speaking at a rare press conference in the capital, Naypyitaw. The Arakan Army could not be immediately reached for comment, but a spokesman outside Myanmar previously told Reuters five bodies seized by the military did not belong to their fighters. The ethnic Rakhine population must not be demonized and targeted by the military on suspicion of association with the AA," Lee said in a statement. "During negotiations at the president’s house on January 9, state counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said AA were terrorists and instructed to crack down effectively," Tun Tun Nyi said. "If not, others would point out that ARSA was cracked down on because it’s from a different religion and AA was not because it is an ethnic group," he said.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 18, 2019 17:26 UTC