“Military tensions are still intensifying between the two sides,” the source told DMG.

There were 87 traffic accidents reported in Arakan State during the period from January 1 through June, resulting in 44 deaths and 98 injuries, according to the state traffic police.

Six children — three in Ponnagyun Township, and one each in Maungdaw, Myebon and Taungup townships — have died of dengue fever, malaria and/or seasonal flu so far this month.

Cosmetics products that Myanmar’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared should not be used are still being widely sold in Arakan State.

The weaving industry in Arakan State was among many affected by Cyclone Mocha, and weavers need financial aid for regeneration, according to weaving business owners.            

The anti-junta groups said that if residents see any suspicious activity involving the military in these areas, they should report it to the local resistance forces.

Two administrators from Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township were charged last week under Section 17 (1) and (92) of the Unlawful Associations Act for having alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA).

More than 100 Muslim internally displaced people (IDPs) at Thetkelpyin IDP camp in Sittwe Township are reportedly suffering from seasonal flu, according to camp officials.

Some factories damaged or destroyed by the storm are still being repaired and some plants cannot resume operations due to financial difficulties.

Myanmar’s military regime has objected to a joint communiqué issued at a recent ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting that criticised the post-coup state of affairs in Myanmar and the military’s conduct specifically.

Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing during his latest visit to Arakan State this week said he was satisfied with the progress of relief efforts over the past two months.

Camps for internally displaced people (IDP) in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township have been flooded by persistent rains, according to IDPs.

POSCO International Co., and the Shwe Yaung Myitta Foundation, a local charity, are reportedly donating 6,000 bags of rice to Cyclone Mocha victims in Arakan State.

About 75 percent of storm victims have been provided accommodation and efforts are being made to provide the remaining storm victims with shelters, Cyclone Mocha ERRA added.

The junta is spending K1 billion to restore the colonial-era U Ray Kyaw Thu Monastery in Sittwe, which was decimated by Cyclone Mocha, while preserving the remaining original architecture, according to the board of trustees.

Porters at border trade camps in Arakan State’s Sittwe and Maungdaw are struggling as border trade has not yet returned to normal since Cyclone Mocha battered the state in mid-May.

Myanmar’s military regime has slightly eased its mandatory forex conversion rule for exporters, down from 65 percent to 50 percent.       

At the Zedi Pyin IDP camp in Rathedaung Township, which houses about 320 people, 45 out of 48 toilets were damaged by the storm, and IDPs only have three latrines to use currently.

Around 2.5 million pounds of plastic bags are used annually in Arakan State, but local factories can only supply 450,000 pounds, according to local plastic manufacturers.