Space for vehicle parking is inadequate at the Kyauktan temporary terminal in Sittwe Township, Arakan State, according to drivers. 

Two teenage girls were wounded by shrapnel after an artillery shell allegedly fired by the military landed in Kyauktaw Township’s Alaekyun village at about 9 a.m. on September 3, according to family members of the victims and an Arakan State lawmaker. 

The Union Election Commission (UEC) has defended its rejection of would-be general election candidate U Phoe San, saying the decision on the basis of his son’s association with the Arakan Army was in accordance with the law.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement on September 1 provided K40,000 (US$30) per family to war refugees in Buthidaung Township, with the government cash assistance intended as financial relief during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in Arakan State. 

Any COVID-19 cases that exceed Manaung Hospital’s 10-patient coronavirus capacity will be transferred to the 100-bed hospital in Taungup, according to Dr. U Saw Min, the superintendent of Manaung Hospital.

The United Nations office in Myanmar has pledged its full support for efforts to combat a recent COVID-19 outbreak in Arakan State, and urged the warring sides in the state’s armed conflict to “heed the Secretary General’s call for a global ceasefire” amid the pandemic. 

Some households in Sittwe say they have not received any government cash assistance during the stay-at-home period put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Arakan State. 

Family members of a rice mill owner in Ponnagyun Township who has been detained by the military paid a call on Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu on September 2 and sought help for the detainee.

Voter lists cannot be displayed in 11 villages of Ann Township, Arakan State, due to clashes there, said U Ko Ko Myat, the Ann Township administrator. 

At least eight civilians from Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, were wounded by artillery strikes late Tuesday evening, according to residents. 

Government staff in Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, have not received their salaries for August, according to the staff and residents.

A trio of ethnic armed groups including the Arakan Army has issued a 70-day extension of a previously declared unilateral ceasefire, with the olive branch intended to facilitate efforts to combat COVID-19 and ease conditions for holding Myanmar’s general election on November 8.

Amid a COVID-19 outbreak in the region, buses and ferry boats suspended operations last month. Many stores are closed and prices are reportedly rising, adding to concerns about supply chains in the region.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Health and Sports, the number of coronavirus-positive patients in Pauktaw Township, Arakan State, had risen to 20 as of September 1, hitting a mark previously described as the upper limit of the hospital’s capacity.

A resident of Kyaukgusu village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township was shot dead by security personnel on August 31, locals said.

A teenage boy from Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, was injured by gunfire allegedly coming from a naval vessel in the Mayu River on August 31, according to family members of the victim.

Preparations are underway to receive up to 200 COVID-19 patients at Sittwe General Hospital as medical staff eye an increasing daily case count in Arakan State, said Dr. Zaw Lwin, the hospital’s medical superintendent.

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, people have been instructed to promptly report their travel history to local authorities if they have recently been to Sittwe or other townships in Arakan State where coronavirus infections have been reported this month.