A beauty pageant for married women will be held in the Arakan State capital Sittwe from December 22-26, according to the organiser, Mrs. Ethnic Tourism.

To commemorate International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which falls on December 3, sporting events were held at the Danyawaddy sports grounds on Friday morning in Sittwe.

Junta troops and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 6-led resistance forces engaged in fierce fighting on the Myawaddy-Waw Lay road in Kayin (Karen) State’s Myawaddy Township this week. Thousands of residents have been forced from their homes by junta aerial bombardments and artillery strikes.

A resident of Kathae Ward in Sittwe, Arakan State, was abducted from his home by junta soldiers on Wednesday night, locals said.

The plaintiff in the case against political and social activist Ko Zaw Win aka Ludu Zaw Win, who has been charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, could not attend a court hearing on Friday, with the hearing postponed for the seventh time, according to a lawyer involved.

Family members are worried about the well-being of a university student and a motorcycle taxi driver who were detained at the Kyeinchaung security checkpoint in Maungdaw, Arakan State, on November 1, as they have not been in contact with the pair for nearly a month. 

An internally displaced person (IDP) from Buddhawmaw Monastery in the Arakan State capital Sittwe is currently receiving medical treatment after he was tortured during military interrogation, according to family members.

U San Ko, an Arakanese composer and owner of the Arakan Ar Mahn bus gate in Arakan State’s Thandwe, who was charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act earlier this month, appeared in court on Thursday. 

Thousands of children at camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Bago Region’s Shwegyin Township have had their access to education jeopardised or cut off completely due to fighting between the military and an anti-regime coalition led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).

Myanmar’s military regime has imposed limits on the amount of fuel, cement and pharmaceuticals that ferry boats operating on the Sittwe-Pauktaw route can carry from the former to the latter, according to boatmen and passengers. 

A six-month-old baby girl from Jeitchaung Village, Maungdaw Township, who was severely injured by mortar strikes on November 16, succumbed to shrapnel wounds at Maungdaw Hospital on November 22. 

Since renewed fighting erupted between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in August, 23 houses were razed by artillery strikes and junta arson attacks in Arakan State.

More than 10,000 local people from Darletchaung Village-tract in Ann Township are facing food shortages and rising food prices as the Myanmar military has imposed a ban on food supplies into the area.

About 10 female students reportedly suffered sudden-onset breathing problems while attending class at the basic education high school in Kywe Te Village, Mrauk-U Township, and were rushed to the local hospital.

A Khami New Year event was observed on Wednesday at the Town Hall in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U, where the number of people in attendance was reportedly low due to ongoing concerns about the regional security environment and travel barriers.

Junta troops carried out an air attack on Taung Kalay Village in Mon State’s Kyaikmaraw Township after the combined forces of the Kaw Thoo Lei Army (KTLA) and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Battalion 16 seized a junta police outpost at the village early Monday morning.

Eight men from two villages in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, who had been detained by the military for more than a week, were reportedly released at about 4 p.m. on November 21. 

The Paletwa Township Court has sentenced a 100-household head and a 10-household head to three years in prison for incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, according to legal sources close to the matter. 

Twelve residents were killed and at least 27 others were injured when three mortar shells landed and exploded in Jeitchaung Village, Maungdaw Township.