Senior leaders of Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA) held an online conference call late last month to discuss elections and food aid in Rakhine state, contacts aimed at “building trust” during a de facto ceasefire in the western state, a spokesman for AA told RFA.

The Nov. 25 online talks, revealed by the AA but not confirmed by the military, came amid efforts since Nov. 8 national elections to put an end to a two-year-long war in Rakhine state between AA troops and government forces that has killed more than 300 civilians and displaced about 226,000 others.

Khine Thukha, spokesman for the AA, which is fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine, confirmed the video chat between Rakhine war adversaries to RFA’s Myanmar Service, according to a RFA report.