Five Fires in Arakan State this November

Narinjara Mra Bon: Five consecutive fires broke out this November in western Burma's Arakan State, with the latest one gutting 146 houses in Cittara Village in cyclone-ravaged Mraybon Township. A resident from Cittara village whose house was destroyed in the fire, told Narinjara that they have become homeless again after their homes - newly reconstructed after being hit by Cyclone Giri - were burned up in the fire. "We had just rebuilt our houses that were badly damaged in Cyclone Giri...

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Three Remaining Burmese Freedom Fighters Released from Indian Jail

Narinjara New Dehli: The remaining three Burmese freedom fighters were released from jail in India on Wednesday, thirteen years after being arrested on charges of gun-running from Andaman's Landfall Island. They were identified as Arakanese nationals Lu Lu and Hayli, and Karen national Maung Naing. The judge in Port Blair in the Andaman Islands...

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Fire Gutts Main Market in Minbya

Narinjara A fire broke out in Myoma Market in Minbya in the evening on Saturday (12th of November 2011) and gutted almost all the shops in the market. The fire is said to have started around 7 pm and continued with blaze-busters until 12 pm in the market panicking people living in the nearby residential wards who vacated their houses and ran away. “I do not know how the fire started, but I started to notice the fire around 7 pm when I could hear the people shouting ‘fire, fire’….I rushed to...

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Campaign for 24-Hour Electricity in Arakan State

Narinjara Sittwe: A clandestine poster campaign demanding 24 hour electricity be supplied all over Arakan State in western Burma with power generated from local gas was recently launched. The 24-Hour Action Group Rakhine State has claimed that it has carried out the campaign on the 10th of November, coinciding the religious festive occasion in...

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Two of Eleven Imprisoned Arakanese Youth Walk Free from Insein Prison

Narinjara Yangon: Two of eleven Arakanese youth were were arrested and imprisoned in 2009 walked free from Insein Prison in Rangoon on Friday morning after they completed their respective prison terms. The two released youth are Ko Khine Kyaw Moe and Ko Zaw Tun Nine. "Zaw Tun Nine and I were freed from Insein Prison this morning. We were ...

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Army Recruits 14-Year-Old Student in Arakan State

Narinjara Buthidaung: An army battalion based in Buthidaung in western Burma's Arakan State has recently recruited a 14-year-old student from the area, reportedly after deceiving him about support for receiving a better education in the army. A source close to the child's parents told Narinjara that Light Infantry Battalion 234 based in Buthidaung...

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Construction of Indian Port Harms Residents in Sittwe

Narinjara Residents in Sittwe, the capital of western Burma’s Arakan State, said the construction of an Indian-owned port in their town is harming many people, due to the large volume of sands that have blown away from the site, near the Sittwe general hospital. Construction site of India port in Sittwe, Arakan. According to them, dust and...

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China Commences Construction of Oil Tanks on Madae Island

Narinjara China has recently started building giant tanks for storing crude oil shipped from Africa and Middle East within the compound of the deep seaport on the Madae Island in Kyaukpru in western Burma’s Arakan State. A Burmese engineer who is working with the project said the construction of the oil tanks will be completed in mid 2012 and importing...

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Government Officials Take Chinese Pipeline Compensation

Narinjara Kyauk Pru: Government officials in Kyaukpru in western Burma’s Arakan State have taken the compensation offered to local residents for whose lands were confiscated to make way for the corridor of the Chinese gas pipeline. The construction of Chinese gas pipeline now reaches at Kyauk Pru Township in Arakan. A resident of Kapaingchaung...

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