News analysis

Sittwe blasts put spotlight on Rakhine nationalists

One of four arrested over blasts is committee member of group representing Rakhines

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Three bombs went off in Myanmar's Rakhine state over the weekend, but few are pointing fingers at the Rohingya. Months after Rohingya militant attacks sparked a crackdown that drove most of these Muslims off the land, the spotlight has turned to nationalists from the state's biggest ethnic group, the Rakhines.

At least four people have been arrested in connection with the bombings in the state capital of Sittwe, which injured one policeman slightly. One of the four is Naing Soe, a central executive committee member of the Arakan National Council (ANC), an umbrella group representing ethnic Rakhine activists.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 01, 2018, with the headline Sittwe blasts put spotlight on Rakhine nationalists. Subscribe