Even as junta leader Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing invites Myanmar’s ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) to renewed peace talks, the regime has stepped up its arrests of civilians on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) in recent months.  

Myanmar’s military regime has limited the supply of palm oil to the market due to declining stocks. 

Locals in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, are concerned about possible flooding in the rainy season after the bank of a diverted creek eroded recently due to rains. 

Fighting continued for a second consecutive day on Wednesday in Kyaikto Township, Mon State, after coalition troops headed by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) attacked a military convoy, according to locals. 

Military regime spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun has chided ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) that so far refuse to attend peace talks proposed by junta chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing last month. 

The Arakan State Consumer Affairs Department has again warned shops against selling tainted meatballs and sausages, urging consumers to report to the department when they see shops selling dubious meats that fit the description. 

Authorities have said new houses will be built this year for the relocation of internally displaced people (IDPs) from Kyauktalone displacement camp in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township. 

Exports of peanuts and sesame, excluding black sesame, have been temporarily suspended from the Myawaddy trade zone to Thailand from May 9, according to the junta-controlled Ministry of Commerce. 

Celebrations commemorating the ninth Arakan National Day will be held in Arakan State’s Maungdaw and Thandwe on May 15, according to event organisers. 

A large portion of makeshift shelters in Arakan State’s camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) have been constructed of little more than tarpaulins and nipa palm leaves, with IDPs demanding that damaged homes in particular be repaired before the rainy season arrives in earnest. 

The Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Chin National Front (CNF) issued a joint statement on May 9 urging Myanmar’s military junta to include all stakeholders in its proposed peace dialogue if it is to find a solution to the country’s political crisis. 

The Myanmar junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has suspended the Democratic Party for Myanmar New Society (DPMNS) as a political party for one year, alleging that the party failed to submit to an order from the election body to have the party’s finances audited.  

Myanmar military inspections have become increasingly frequent in Arakan State villages of late, according to residents, who say the surprise visits are unnerving locals. 

A fire broke out at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the compound of Mahamuni Pagoda in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw at around 1 a.m. on Monday, damaging or destroying 262 homes and leaving hundreds of IDPs in need of emergency relief aid. 

The Arakan State military council has imposed restrictions on the supply of rice to Dar Lat Chaung village-tract in Ann Township since May 6, according to local residents. 

Fighting continues in Kyainseikgyi Township, Kayin (Karen) State, and civilians displaced by the ongoing hostilities are in urgent need of food and medicine, according to aid workers. 

As Cyclone Asani churned over the Bay of Bengal on Monday, Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) said it was not likely to deliver a direct hit to the Arakan State coast, but the department nonetheless advised caution for western Myanmar’s inhabitants. 

At least six ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) have officially rejected the peace dialogue proposed by junta chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, who last month invited EAO leaders for talks to end Myanmar’s long-running civil war. 

Myanmar’s military regime distributed propaganda leaflets against the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) to passers-by in Mrauk-U Township.