As fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) continued over the Christmas weekend in and around Lay Kay Kaw town and Mae Htaw Tha Lay village in Kayin State, more than 1,000 civilians are still stranded along the Thai-Myanmar border and thousands more have crossed into Thailand, according to aid workers. 

Some nurses who have joined the anti-regime Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and were working at private hospitals in Myanmar say they have gone into hiding as security personnel are targeting them. 

The Taungup Township Court on Tuesday postponed what was to be a decisive hearing in the case of Ko Aung Win Naing, chair of the Moe Pyinnyar Dana Philanthropic Association in Arakan State’s Taungup town, who was charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act. 

Houses and shops in five villages are slated for removal as part of plans to widen the Sittwe-Palinpyin road in Bumay village-tract, Sittwe Township, said U Hla Thein, spokesperson for the Arakan State Administration Council. 

Thirty-three of 76 Muslims who were arrested last week in Taungup Township, Arakan State, were charged under the Immigration Act and sentenced to one year in prison by the Taungup Township Court on Tuesday. 

The Ponnagyun Township Court in Arakan State will hear arguments at a hearing scheduled for January 5 to decide whether five Kyaukseik villagers should be officially charged with terrorism, according to a lawyer involved in the case. 

Preparations are being made to provide boat services between Arakan State’s Kyauktaw and Paletwa, Chin State, two times a week, according to the Arakan State regime council. 

Local farmers in Arakan State’s Manaung Township whose lands were confiscated during the construction of a dam in 2020 have yet to receive compensation. 

Winter crop growers in Arakan State say their ranks have dwindled this year due to higher agricultural costs. 

The Arakan Army (AA) said there was opposition from the military council to the judicial and administrative initiatives being implemented by the United League of Arakan (ULA) throughout Arakan State.

The Arakan Student’s Union, a group of Muslim students and the Arakan Students’ Union (Universities – Yangon) issued a joint statement on December 23 condemning a series of suspected crimes in Arakan State as acts of sabotage intended to divide the state’s people.

Bundles of paddy belonging to a Muslim farmer from Nagayar village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township were reportedly set on fire Thursday night.

Officials are awaiting the results of a lab test to determine the reason for the deaths of a large number of swine in some Arakan State townships, according to the state’s Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department. 

A teenage suspect has been arrested and three men are still at large in a case involving the killing of a General Administration Department (GAD) employee in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, according to the Maungdaw Myoma police station. 

Mass civilian displacement has continued in Sagaing Region and Kayin State over the past 10 days as villagers have fled Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) airstrikes amid conflict between the junta and Peoples Defence Forces (PDFs), as well as ethnic armed groups.  

Covid-19 “Safe Service” certificates have been issued to 66 hotels and guesthouses across Arakan State, according to the state’s Directorate of Hotels and Tourism (DHT). 

Junta forces fired heavy weapons on Thay Baw Bo village, south of Myawaddy town in Kayin State, early Thursday morning, destroying some houses and forcing local residents to flee to the Thai border. 

Conservationists are calling for more resources committed to ranger patrols to protect elephants and other wildlife in the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range in Gwa Township, Arakan State’s only wild elephant sanctuary. 

Experts say authorities need to be wary of the growing presence of microplastics in seawater off the coast of Arakan State.