Covering news in Arakan State has grown more challenging for media outlets since the Arakan Army (AA) launched its offensive against the military on Nov. 13, 2023. The regime has imposed a land and sea blockade into the region, which has lasted for over two years.
“The number of Rakhine journalists who quit their jobs may increase as a result of stress brought on by inconsistent pay and a lack of security,” Myo Min, a reporter at a media outlet in Arakan, told DVB using a pseudonym to protect his identity.
The United League of Arakan (ULA), the political wing of the AA, arrested Border News Agency (BNA) reporter Mu Dra from her home in Maungdaw Township in northern Arakan State on Sept. 20.
“There are restrictions on covering news. The [ULA] provides security and information for the news they wish us to cover,” a freelance journalist told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
BNA has called for Mu Dra’s immediate release over the last three months of her detention by the AA detention. Myanmar Women in Media (MWiM), the Burmese Women’s Union (BMU), and Sisters2Sisters, issued a joint statement on Oct. 3 expressing concerns over the BNA reporter’s detention.
“Our superiors ordered us not to do any interviews,” a ULA member told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Khaing Thukha, the ULA/AA spokesperson, told the media that Mu Dra was detained for interrogation due to her reporting.
Twan Mrat Naing, the AA commander-in-chief, has previously said that media is important for the country and that reporters should diligently gather news in Arakan State.
Press freedom in AA-controlled areas has been called into question due to its restrictions on information gathering and arrests of reporters on “security grounds.”
“There is zero tolerance for negative news about the ULA/AA,” Thet Lwin, a reporter in Arakan, told DVB using a pseudonym to protect their identity. “Because of this, it is difficult to obtain information from the public due to security concerns.”
Since the 2021 military coup, the regime has turned Myanmar into a country with no freedom of the press, or freedom of expression. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in its World Press Freedom Index 2025, ranked Myanmar near the bottom at 169 out of 180 with 47 media workers held in prison.
Myanmar is also the second biggest jailer of journalists after China, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It has documented that at least 27 journalists are being held in detention by the regime and called on Naypyidaw to free all jailed journalists in Myanmar.
The Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) reported that seven journalists have been killed and at least 200 journalists have been arrested since the 2021 coup, according to IPCM.
The publication licenses of 15 media outlets, including DVB, have been revoked over the last five years since the coup.
Former DVB and Western News reporter Myat Thu Tun, aka Phoe Thiha, was killed in Mrauk-U Township, northern Arakan State, on Jan. 31, 2024.
The AA has seized control of 14 out of 17 townships in Arakan, as well as Paletwa Township in southern Chinland. Media outlets in Arakan want the AA to explicitly clarify its policies and guidelines for reporters in areas under its control.
