The three - two women and a man – were abducted by the banned Arakan Army in mid-October while campaigning in Rakhine as candidates before a Nov 8 election. "This is a goodwill gesture ... and we hope Myanmar army and Myanmar government will make similar goodwill gestures too," said Arakan Army spokesman Khine Thu Kha told Reuters in an audio recording sent by text message. "We haven't met with the candidates yet, so we do not have any more information right now," spokesman Myo Nyunt Myo Nyunt told Reuters by phone. Rakhine state has been roiled for more than a year by conflict between government troops and insurgents from the Arakan Army fighting for greater autonomy for the region. About two-thirds of the state's population were unable to vote after the election commission shut some polling stations, citing insecurity because of fighting between government troops and the Arakan Army insurgent group.

Source: bd News24 January 01, 2021 10:18 UTC