⁍ The Arakan Army (AA), the rebel group battling government troops there, said in a statement posted online the three candidates would be ‘detained and investigated as required by circumstances till a certain time’
It accused the NLD of complicity with military ‘atrocities’ against civilians.
⁍ The AA, which recruits from the mostly Buddhist ethnic majority in Rakhine, seeks greater autonomy for the region from the central government.
– Three members of Myanmar’s ruling party were kidnapped Wednesday while campaigning in the conflict-torn western state of Rakhine, the National League for Democracy said Monday. Two women and a man were seized while riding a motorcycle and a fourth was seized while walking in a village, the AP reports. The rebels, the Arakan Army, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in a statement posted online, saying they would be “detained and investigated as required by circumstances till a certain time.” The statement accused the NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, of being complicit in “atrocities” against civilians and demanded the release of students arrested while protesting the war in Rakhine, Reuters reports. Election day is Nov. 8.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rakhine/myanmar-insurgents-say-they-kidnapped-ruling-party-candidates-idUSKBN2741VI