Insurgents from western Myanmar on 1 January released three ruling party politicians who had been kidnapped from conflict-torn Rakhine state, a spokesman for the insurgent group said, calling it a goodwill gesture to build trust with the government.

A Myanmar border guard police officer at the Goke Pi police outpost in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar on 7 January, 2019. (Photo: EPA)

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 8 November election.

The candidates were held for more than two months.

Myo Nyunt Myo Nyunt, spokesman for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), confirmed the candidates had been transferred to an army camp near Paletwa in Chin state.

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.

The fighting is separate from violence that has led to the flight of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya, also from Rakhine state.

Source: VNA