A democracy activist was arrested by police on Tuesday night in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, during a night raid, said a family member.

"U Saw Hla Maung from Mizan Ward in Sittwe was arrested by the police in a raid, but I do not know why the authorities arrested him," he said.

U Saw Hla Aung is a democracy activist who staged a protest against the government in Sittwe along with five other people during the Saffron Revolution last fall.

"He was hiding at an unknown location after the Saffron Revolution because he was wanted by the authorities because of his involvement in the protests," the relative said.

According to a local source, he was arrested after he returned home from where he had been hiding. The police took him to an unknown location for interrogation, but no further information since the arrest is available.

U Saw Hla Maung's family members are worried about him because the authorities may torture him during interrogation.

U Nyi Pu, Secretary of the Arakan State National League for Democracy, was also arrested by the military authority on August 12 from his residence. A colleague said, "Eight unidentified people in plainclothes entered his residence at 42nd Street in Rangoon at 3 am and then took him to an unknown location."

Arrests in Arakan State have increased recently and security everywhere in Arakan has been beefed up in order to prevent any demonstrations being staged by local residents.

On 8 August , 48 Arakanese youth were arrested by the police marching in a procession against the military junta. The authorities later released 43 of the youths, but five remain in custody at an unknown location.