The Arakan Army (AA) detained the new township administrator in Rakhine State's Ponnagyun Town on 17 July, barely two weeks after he started the job.

According to locals, the administrator, Hla Shwe, aged 55, was detained on his return from a pilgrimage to Kyauktaw.

A local said: "He was arrested after returning from a pilgrimage to Kyauktaw. We know the AA detained him. U Hla Shwe arrived here in Ponnagyun on the 1st of this July, so he has only been [in post] just over two weeks."

Residents from Ponnagyun Town, about 10 miles north east of Sittwe, said they did not understand why the AA had detained Hla Shwe as he had just been appointed.

Locals also said that the junta has not yet questioned anyone about Hla Shwe's detention.