Trade in the Kanyin Chaung economic zone has decreased by some 50 percent as the Myanmar military has blockaded the Angumaw-Maungdaw road in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township since August 13, according to merchants.

It has been more than three years since family members visited Ko Zaw Lin Tun and Ko Win Zaw Tun from Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township, who have been serving life sentences in a Thai prison for allegedly killing two British nationals in 2014.

Myanmar’s military regime has tightened checks on road users since August 26, following fighting between its troops and a combined contingent of fighters from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and anti-junta resistance groups in Mon State’s Kyaikto Township, according to locals.

As many as 1,000 people from Wakone village in Tanintharyi Region’s Dawei Township have fled to safer locations after heavy weapons were fired into the village from a military convoy, according to sources on the ground.

Fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Arakan State has claimed lives in recent days, with four civilians killed and eight injured in separate artillery shellings on August 27 and 29.

More than 400 ethnic Mro and Daingnet residents of Khamaung Seik village in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, who have been displaced by recent fighting are currently facing livelihood hardships, some of the internally displaced people (IDPs) told DMG.

Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, became the latest flashpoint in escalating hostilities between Myanmar’s military regime and the Arakan Army (AA) when the two sides clashed there on Sunday and three civilians, including a 4-year-old child, were killed.

Fifty-three Muslims en route to Yangon have been arrested in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township in recent days, according to police officials from the Thandwe police station.

The Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) of the ethnic armed organisations that have signed Myanmar’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) has vowed to organise an all-inclusive dialogue aimed at paving the way for establishing a Union based on democracy and federalism.

At least 15 cases of blackmail have been reported in Mon State’s Mawlamyine and Mudon townships this month, in which the perpetrators threatened to attack businesses, according to local residents.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) at some displacement camps in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships are facing food shortages as there is a lack of rice at the camps, according to camp officials.

Relatives are concerned about the fate of seven Maungdaw Township residents who were abducted by Myanmar’s military regime following clashes between its troops and the Arakan Army (AA) on Friday.

Relatives are concerned about the fate of seven Maungdaw Township residents who were abducted by Myanmar’s military regime following clashes between its troops and the Arakan Army (AA) on Friday.

An elderly woman was killed when an artillery shell exploded in Mingyi village, part of Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, on August 27, according to the village administrator.

Farmers in Ayeyarwady, Bago and Tanintharyi regions, and Mon State, are unable to grow paddy due to the steep rise in prices of agricultural inputs such as fuel and fertiliser, and are increasingly abandoning their farms, according to farmers.

Traffic police in the Arakan State capital Sittwe have begun confiscating unlicensed vehicles since Thursday, according to a traffic police officer.

Hundreds of acres of paddy fields owned by residents of Arakan State’s Rathedaung and Maungdaw townships, who have fled their homes due to recent fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), are reported to be damaged.

War-displaced civilians in Arakan State have called on Myanmar’s military regime not to impose restrictions on local and international organisations providing humanitarian assistance for them.

The Foreign Ministry of Myanmar’s military regime on Friday condemned statements issued by United Nations officials and other international stakeholders on the fifth anniversary of the 2017 Muslim exodus from Arakan State.