Residents of four settlements in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township have fled in fear after scores of Myanmar military soldiers and police officers entered their communities on July 18.

A clash broke out between the Myanmar military and an armed group on the Taungpyo road between Tarein and Myawady villages in the northern part of Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, at around 10 a.m. on July 18.

Women’s rights activists say violence against women in Myanmar is increasing year after year, but that women who are victims of such violence are demanding justice less and less.

Fuel prices have decreased slightly across much of Myanmar, but they remain high in Chin State’s Paletwa Township, according to local residents.

A local administrative in-charge of the United League of Arakan (ULA), the political wing of the Arakan Army (AA), in Kyaukphyu Township’s Zin Chaung village is wanted by the Myanmar military, which undertook a search for him on Friday.

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been reported among cattle across several villages in Arakan State’s Manaung Township, according to local residents. 

The World Bank has warned that due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the military takeover in Myanmar, financial sector reforms of the past decade are “at severe risk of stagnation or reversal.” 

Two villagers from Kyaukphyu Township detained and charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code were brought to trial on Friday. 

The Myanmar military has reportedly restricted the travel rights of residents in eastern Bago Region’s Shwegyin Township, where strict inspections have been imposed on the locals.

The Arakan Front Party (AFP) released a statement urging the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army to take problem-solving approaches to deescalate ongoing tensions between the two sides.

Fuel prices remain high in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships, despite gas stations having been ordered to bring down their selling prices, according to local residents. 

A large proportion of illegal timber seized in Arakan State this year is from other parts of Myanmar, according to the Arakan State Forest Department.

The Matupi District Court in Chin State on Friday reportedly postponed delivering a final ruling in the appeal of Ko Tin Tun Aung, a resident of neighbouring Paletwa Township who has been sentenced to three years in prison for incitement. 

A local official has warned that people who gather and drink alcohol at U Ottama Park in the Arakan State town of Kyaukphyu will be monitored and punished starting this month.

Six Ponnagyun Township residents detained and charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code were brought to trial respectively at the Ponnagyun Township Court and a Sittwe Prison tribunal on Friday. 

Despite the cessation of active hostilities between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State, casualties from landmines have risen in recent months, with rural residents particularly vulnerable and calls growing for the military council to clear the deadly remnants of past conflict.

Thae Khon village on Myay Ngu Island in Pauktaw Township, Arakan State, has for years suffered from annual shoreline erosion that imposes a heavy financial burden on villagers and threatens the very existence of the settlement, according to local residents.

The Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road, which was closed in mid-June amid military tensions between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), has not been reopened yet, leading to difficulties for transporters and local residents. 

There is a shortage of rice and other foodstuffs at Pelpadon IDP camp in Ward No. 3 of Ann town, Arakan State, and displaced camp residents are currently having to buy provisions from acquaintances through a credit system, according to a camp official.