Myanmar’s military regime has closed a bridge crucial for nearly 20 villages along Sammati Creek in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, severely disrupting the daily lives of locals.

Nine Kyaukphyu Township men were sentenced to three years in prison each under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law on Thursday, more than two years after they were arrested and accused of having illegal ties to the Arakan Army (AA). 

The Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) says dozens of civilian casualties have been reported over the past seven months in clashes between the Myanmar military and a coalition led by the Karen National Liberation Army in Kayin (Karen) State’s Dooplaya District.

Myanmar’s military regime sealed off a Buddhist monastery in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township earlier this month, citing possible threats to community tranquillity.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering at a Buddhist monastery in Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, felt compelled to flee after Myanmar military troops were deployed at the monastery. 

The Sittwe District Court on Wednesday sentenced two Ponnagyun Township men accused of having illegal Arakan Army (AA) ties to three years in prison under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, more than two years after the pair were arrested.

A Chin State court on Wednesday reduced by one year the prison term of Ko Tin Tun Aung, a resident of Paletwa Township who had been sentenced to three years in prison for incitement.

A combined contingent of Myanmar military troops and Border Guard Force personnel detained an administrator and two other men from Kyeinchaung village in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township early Wednesday morning, according to family members.

Local residents in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township have called for the soonest possible opening of a technical institute being built near Kutoe Seik village, with construction on the education facility having begun some four years ago.

A free monastic school run by a Buddhist monk in Khamaung Taw village, Ann Township, is seeking donations to pay its teachers and feed the students.

The Myanmar military arrested two men from Sanpya ward in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township early Tuesday morning, according to family members of the detainees.

A Mrauk-U Township resident has had to receive medical treatment in Yangon after he was tortured while in military custody, according to relatives. 

Villagers fled in fear and some shopkeepers in Rathedaung Township shuttered their businesses after nearly 100 junta troops showed up near Pyarchaunggyi village on Tuesday morning. 

More than 1,700 people taking refuge at displacement camps in Palaw Township, Tanintharyi Region, are facing shelter and food shortages, according to local aid workers.

The Arakan Army captured 14 junta soldiers and police personnel after the ethnic armed group clashed with the Myanmar military in northern Maungdaw Township on July 18, AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha told DMG. 

Cases of dengue fever have nearly tripled this year compared with approximately the same period in 2021, according to statistics from the Arakan State Department of Public Health (DPH).

Kanbawza Bank has opened a case against two senior clerks of the Manaung bank branch for alleged misappropriation of deposits.

Nine Sittwe residents detained by Myanmar’s military regime and facing criminal prosecution were brought to trial in the Arakan State capital on Monday.

Many vehicles were stranded on the Moebye-Pekon-Loikaw road after fierce fighting broke out on Monday between regime troops and anti-junta resistance forces in Moebye Township, Shan State, near the border with Kayah (Karenni) State, according to residents.