Members of two political parties clashed on Saturday in Maungdaw Township in Arakan State during poll campaign, said a member of the village election commission.

The clash occurred in Kha Mong Site Village, 20 miles north of Maungdaw, during a public meeting of the National Development Democratic Party (NDDP), when some members from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) created a disturbance.

"We have already informed the township election commission of the incident for necessary action. The authorities may impose Section 144 to control the situation," the source said.

Some members of the two parties sustained minor injuries in the clash, but no one needed to be hospitalized.

"Such clashes between the NDDP and USDP took place recently in seven locations in Maungdaw Township during NDDP campaign events. Now the authorities will take action against them," he added.

In Maungdaw Township, the NDDP is popular among the public because the party was formed by well-known Muslim leaders, and party leaders have no connections with the military government.

A businessman said, "The USDP is now afraid of losing in Maungdaw Township in the election because Muslim people support the NDDP. Because of this, members of the USDP have disturbed the NDDP meetings in Maungdaw Township."

According to a party source, the NDDP cancelled its campaign plans last week in Alay Than Kyaw, a few miles south of Maungdaw, because 50 members from the USDP staged a protest against the NDDP at the entrance of the village when NDDP leaders visited the village to canvass for votes.

Some USDP candidates in Maungdaw Township are also Muslim leaders, but most Muslims in the area support the NDDP because the party is independent of the current military regime.

"We know the policy of the present military government on the Muslim community. There is religious discrimination in Burma under the regime. So we will vote for the NDDP in the election," said an educated Muslim youth from Maungdaw.

The USDP is not currently doing well in townships in Arakan State, and many local sources speculate that if the election is truly free and fair, the military's proxy party would be defeated in Arakan by local parties with genuine support among the people.