Porters at Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, better known to foreign visitors as Golden Rock and one of the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar, are having hard days as few people have been visiting the pagoda since last month.

Seven residents of Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township who were arrested by junta troops on Tuesday night were released at around 11 a.m. on Friday, according to family members. 

Some 200 vehicles including passenger buses are pinned down in Ponnagyun Township due to ongoing military tensions between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), according to locals. 

At least seven residents including two 7-year-olds were reportedly injured after artillery shells landed and exploded in Shwepyithit Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, at about 1 p.m. on Friday.

Two men were killed by an artillery strike in Diparyon Village, part of Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, on Friday morning, according to local residents.

Nine residents were killed and at least 10 homes reduced to ashes in Hsininngyi Village, part of Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, on November 10, according to villagers.

Renewed fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army is negatively affecting not only the people of Arakan State, but also hundreds of monkeys that have made Thaylar GiriMawra Patta Mountain, a well-known pilgrimage site in Kyauktaw Township, their home. 

The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) on Thursday alleged that the Arakan Army (AA) abducted one of its central committee members earlier this week.

The Myanmar military carried out airstrikes and fired artillery shells into multiple Ponnagyun Township villages after one of its trucks was attacked by the Arakan Army (AA) at a location between Padetha and Hsininngyi villages on Thursday morning, locals said.

House rents have surged in Sittwe amid steadily rising property prices in the Arakan State capital, according to lessees.

A photographer from Sittwe went missing at a junta checkpoint in Kyauktaw on his return from Minbya to the Arakan State capital on Tuesday morning.

Residents from more than 20 villages in Arakan State’s Minbya Township are facing food and supply shortages as soldiers at a junta checkpoint overlooking an important waterway are known to fire random shots at travellers, according to locals.

Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) troops clashed in two Ann Township locations on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of villagers from their homes.

The abbot of a village monastery in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, was released on the morning of November 9, five days after he was detained by the military, according to a source close to the monk. 

Seven residents of Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township were arrested by junta troops on Monday night, with the detainees being interrogated at the military’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 550, according to family members.

The Arakan Refugee Relief Committee (ARRC) issued a statement on Tuesday urging Arakanese people in Malaysia to be cautious when travelling during that country’s upcoming general election, scheduled to be held on November 19. 

Civilian casualties have been on the rise amid the renewed fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State and Chin State’s Paletwa Township over recent months. But even as they grieve and take stock of their new realities, the injured and family members of the deceased are feeling the financial strain of unexpected hospital costs and lost breadwinners. 

A 47-year-old man from Arakan State’s Taungup town was reportedly abducted by the Myanmar military at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday. 

Junta soldiers detained a resident and an internally displaced person (IDP) in Arakan State’s Sittwe Township on Sunday and Monday, respectively, according to family members.