A group of 25 local and international journalists returned to Yangon from a government-organized trip to Maungtaw in northern Rakhine State.
The Myanmar government has been arranging visits for journalists to the violence-ridden northern part of Rakhine in the aftermath of the August 25 terrorist attacks and Myanmar military sweep.
The local and international media group visited and collected news from temporary relief camps in Maungtaw town where displaced persons who fled from terrorist attacks were staying, peaceful and stable places where no act of terrorism occurs and where Muslims were staying, Mawrawadi Village where ethnic nationals were staying, Alethankyaw Border Post that repulsed the extremist terrorist attack, fire damaged villages and the Myanmar-Bangladesh border fence in Maungtaw, according to a report in the Global New Light of Myanmar.
The news media group included 25 journalists from AP, NHK, BBC, TBS, RFA, EPA, Swiss TV, Al Jazeera, CAN, Mizzima, Myanmar Time, CNB and MDN.
This group and earlier groups were carefully shepherded and restricted on where they could report due according to the government to “security concerns”.
The government has been providing more access to the war zone following criticism by local and international media that many areas in Rakhine State were off-limits to reporters. The government has complained about the publication of “misinformation” and “Fake News” about the conflict. Most of the conflict takes place out of sight of reporters.