The United League of Arakan (ULA) issued a statement on February 20 urging the public to adhere to Covid-19 preventative basics as the virus’s Omicron variant has been detected in several Arakan State townships over recent days.

An Arakanese woman living in Yangon’s Shwepyithar Township was fined K100,000 by the township court on Monday for allegedly casting more than one ballot in Myanmar’s 2020 general election.

Emergency assistance is needed to relocate a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) at a football field in Alepai ward of Kanhtautgyi town, in Arakan State’s Myebon Township, according to camp officials.

A Thandwe Township resident has been detained on charges under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for allegedly assisting in the release of locals arrested during an anti-military protest in Thandwe in the third week of February 2021.

The Free Clinic Rakhine, which opened at the compound of Sit Kae Taw Min Monastery in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, needs more donors to be able to run it for a long term, officials of the clinic said.

Amid a recent uptick in the number of Covid-19 infections in Arakan State — and with 75% of a recent sampling of positive cases identified as the virus’s highly contagious Omicron variant — the public is once again being urged to abide by pandemic-related preventive measures.

Arakan State has a suitable climate for growing rubber, but local rubber ventures remain relatively low as businesspeople opt for quicker returns on their investments, according to U Khaing Myint, secretary of the Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association (MRPPA).

Internally displaced people (IDPs) from Mobye town and surrounding villages in Pekon Township, southern Shan State, are in need of food and accommodation after artillery shells hit their homes during recent fighting between the Myanmar military and a joint force of anti-regime armed groups including the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF). 

Myolae Creek in Sittwe is full of rubbish and silt, with residents of the Arakan State capital calling for the waterway to be dredged and cleared of the detritus.  

The Myanmar military reportedly carried out live-fire drills using artillery weapons at two locations in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township on February 19, with another two locations in Manaung Township slated to see similar exercises on February 22. 

The 2-year-old daughter of a local woman in southern Arakan State who was arrested on suspicion of financing the People’s Defence Force (PDF) and has been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law died in Thandwe Prison on February 17. 

Heavy fighting between the Myanmar military and a joint force of anti-regime armed groups including the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force occurred at Mobye town, in southern Shan State’s Pekon Township, over three days beginning February 15.

Sixty-five Muslims destined for Malaysia were arrested near Aung Tine village in Sittwe Township, Arakan State, on Thursday evening, according to the state’s police force.

According to local residents, a power line spanning the Swun Ye River on the Pauktaw-Minbya road is hanging lower than the Sun Ye Bridge, posing a danger to passenger and fishing boats travelling through the area.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State are facing food and shelter shortages due to a lack of aid from local nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations and charity groups.

The Arakan National Council/Arakan Army and allied armed groups conducted a surprise offensive on February 16 and temporarily seized a Myanmar military artillery base in Kayin State, according to an ANC/AA official.

The Forest Department has reportedly submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation to allocate 450 acres of land to people who have been relocated to make way for a hydropower project in Thandwe Township, Arakan State.

The long-running trial of five men from Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, who have been accused of having illegal ties to the Arakan Army (AA), continued at the Sittwe District Court on February 17. 

Water resources experts visiting Mrauk-U have suggested that the unregulated dumping of waste in area creeks is a threat to the ancient city’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage status, suggesting that a better drainage system is also needed.