YANGON - Insurgents from western Myanmar on Monday claimed responsibility for the kidnapping last week of three ruling party candidates in conflict-torn Rakhine state, and demanded the release of detained student protesters in return for letting them go.
The western region, where most parliamentary seats are held by Rakhine nationalist opponents of Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has been beset by an insurgency that has intensified this year. It accused the NLD of complicity with military"atrocities"against civilians but said it was willing to free the group in return for the release of students arrested while protesting the war and other"innocent people" detained by authorities.
The country's election committee said on Saturday more than half the polling stations initially planned in Rakhine will no longer operate, as parts of the state are too unstable for voting.