The military has dug trenches along several of the roads to Sittwe, including from Padaleik Village to the Sittwe Regional Operations Command headquarters and from Shwe Mingan Jetty to the entrance to the town.

The junta has set up additional security checkpoints in Taungup since the last week of June, tightening security checks on passersby and arresting some residents.

"More and more people have become jobless as the fighting continues. We are seeing elderly people, children and in some cases, entire families, begging," said one Kyauktaw resident.

A group of seven locals were attacked by ARSA members near Meetaik Village at around 4 p.m. on October 6 as they were returning from Taungpyo Town in northern Maungdaw Township after purchasing commodities.

"Today's fighting was not fierce. The AA fires mortar shells into the military's Western Command in Ann daily," said one military source on Sunday.

Trawlers from other parts of the country are fishing in the sea some 10 miles from the shore near Minpyin Village by bribing the Myanmar Navy, according to residents.

The regime has targeted Lashio with indiscriminate airstrikes since late August following the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Naypyidaw to meet with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in mid-August.

At least 10 civilians were killed and 15 others were injured in junta airstrikes on Taungup and Thandwe townships over the four days from October 1 to 4.

Many villagers still cannot rebuild their homes and have been struggling to make ends meet as they have received little assistance from donors due to the village-tract's remote location.

Junta soldiers retreated from Kalarpyin Village after suffering heavy casualties in a clash with the Arakkha Army (AA) along the Gantgaw mountain range on Friday.

Many victims disabled by the fighting were their households' primary breadwinners, affecting the livelihoods and wellbeing of entire families amid soaring food prices and high unemployment.

The Arakkha Army (AA) is said to have stepped up law enforcement and public services delivery in parts of Arakan State that it has seized control of from Myanmar’s military regime.

"Due to the military regime's deliberate attack like this, the locals are fleeing for fear of further attacks," said a local man.

Many Shwepyitha Ward residents left valuables behind in the chaos of the harried campaign of forced evictions that took place in mid-September.

With the harvest period approaching over the next few weeks, farmers hope that the Arakkha People's Government sets a fair price for them so that they can sell last year's harvest and the one that is imminent.

The victims were ethnic Khumi and goods that they were delivering worth 30 million kyats were also lost. Family members have filed a complaint with the AA.

Civilian casualties continue to rise in conflict-torn Arakan State due to the Myanmar regime's aerial bombardments of residential areas.

The rent for a typical house in northern Arakan State has increased from 100,000 to 200,000 kyats before the fighting to between 400,000 and 500,000 kyats now.

The regime has imposed additional travel restrictions since the last week of September due to military tensions between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) along the Arakan mountain range.