The Arakan Army (AA) on Sunday released three prisoners of war captured during its 2018-2020 conflict with the Myanmar military, reportedly to mark the ethnic armed group’s 13th anniversary. 

More than 30 homes and at least one school were damaged by Myanmar military airstrikes in Lay Kay Kaw new town, Myawaddy Township, early on Monday morning, according to local sources. 

Young local residents in the village of Rue, Ann Township, launched an online campaign on Sunday intended to raise road safety awareness during the Buddhist New Year. 

The Minbya Township municipality has threatened to cut off water supply in the town after nearly 90 percent of town residents failed to pay their water bills, some for more than three months. 

A home in Taw Kan village, Sittwe Township, was raided by four policemen and about 20 junta soldiers at around 11 p.m. on April 9, leaving local residents in a state of panic. 

The parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and ethnic armed organisations were among those sending messages of felicitation to mark the 13th anniversary of the founding of the Arakan Army (AA) on Sunday. 

Writers not only from Arakan State but also hailing from mainland Myanmar competed over the weekend in the Tankhoe Saya Tun Literary Awards, which aim to promote Arakanese literature and culture.

Traffic jams have been reported along Myanmar’s roads since the morning of April 9 due to the large number of people returning from Yangon and other population centres to various other places during the Thingyan holiday.

Local residents in Arakan State’s Minbya have complained about the township General Administration Department’s plan to turn Min Lake, a landmark of the town, into a public recreation space, citing their concerns over a risk of water pollution in the lake.

Two locals from Ai Tin village in Ponnagyun Township who were arrested on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army (AA) in March 2020 have been detained for more than two years, on trial and awaiting a long-delayed court ruling. 

Arakan State residents have said they want to be able to freely visit hilltop pagodas and temples during Myanmar’s imminent New Year festival, Thingyan, to practice religious activities at those sites, near some of which the military has maintained deployments, in some cases for years.

Water from a dam near Pyin Kauk village in Arakan State’s Manaung Township has a bad smell, locals say, making it difficult for residents to use water from certain sources.

Hundreds of people who have taken refuge in Sittwe after being displaced by 2018-20 fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA) are cash-strapped and facing hardship, with even basic food purchases out of reach for some.

With the approach of Thingyan, the Myanmar New Year Festival, the number of people visiting Ngapali Beach in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, is on the rise, hoteliers said.

Several vehicles had their windows smashed in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township on Tuesday, according to the vehicles’ owners.

Artefacts including Buddha images and stone inscriptions were unearthed when a stupa in Kyauk Myaung village, part of Arakan State’s Ann Township, recently underwent renovation.

Daw Than Than Swe, deputy governor of the junta-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), was reportedly shot at her residence in Yangon’s Bahan Township on Thursday.

A bridge on the road linking Taungpyoletwe and Kyein Chaung villages, near the border with Bangladesh in northern Maungdaw Township, was targeted by an explosive device on Wednesday and was slightly damaged in the blast.

Over 500 clashes took place in territory controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) in March, killing more than 50 locals, according to a source close to the ethnic armed organisation’s militant wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).