Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology on September 16 announced that heavy rains and strong winds are expected in the coming days across much of the country due to Tropical Storm Noul. 

Dozens of refugees sheltering at a Muslim displacement camp in Bangladesh staged a protest on September 17 against the recent detention of three university students from the Arakan Students’ Union. 

The Tatmadaw True News Information Team released a statement on September 16 saying it would take action under the military justice system against three soldiers for the gang rape of a woman in Ugar village, Rathedaung Township.  

Armed conflicts between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed organisations were accompanied by 446 cases of human rights violations in the six months from January through June 2020, according to 13 watchdog groups reporting on the issue. 

One person was killed and two others were wounded after an artillery shell landed and exploded on September 17 in Shwelaungtin village, Rathedaung Township, according to locals. 

The World Food Programme (WFP) will provide food for quarantine centres in eight townships of Arakan State, with the UN agency signing an agreement with the state government on September 15.

The Chin State government is preparing to take action against 41 people in Paletwa Township, including internally displaced people (IDPs), for allegedly breaching Section 144 of the Penal Code by violating a curfew order, as well as health regulations put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Buddhist nuns in Sittwe are struggling to collect alms as donations have dried up amid a spike in new COVID-19 cases in Arakan State over the past month, according to the nuns.

Some 20 students who joined recent protests opposing human rights violations in Arakan State have been arrested and/or are facing a variety of criminal charges, according to a source from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU).

Two people were wounded by shrapnel when artillery shells allegedly fired by the Tatmadaw struck Lamutapin village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township on September 16, according to locals. 

A total of 242 recovered coronavirus patients were discharged from Sittwe General Hospital as of September 15, according to Dr. Zaw Lwin, superintendent of the Arakan State capital’s main hospital, with modified discharge procedures recently being implemented. 

Mangrove cultivation cannot be carried out in some Arakan State townships due to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing armed conflict in the region, according to a mangrove conservation group.

As many as 1,000 people who fled to Kanhtaunggyi town after artillery shells bombarded Nyaungkan village in Arakan State’s Myebon Township last week are facing livelihood hardships, according to volunteers assisting those displaced.

A Muslim man in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township was injured by gunfire on the morning of September 15, according to locals. 

The number of first-time eligible voters in Arakan State for the 2020 general election has exceeded 200,000, according to the Arakan State election subcommission.  

The Arakan State Election Observation Committee has arranged to monitor 500 polling stations during the 2020 general election scheduled for November 8. 

Lawyers’ organisations in Arakan State have condemned authorities for opening a case under the Natural Disaster Management Law against three university students who staged a protest in front of government offices in Sittwe last week. 

Residents in downtown Ponnagyun, Arakan State, are on edge after two unexploded shells were found hung in front of a neighbourhood betel shop. 

The family of a rice mill owner from Sabarhtar village in Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, who was arrested by the Tatmadaw for allegedly storing rice for the Arakan Army said they are concerned about the detainee’s safety as they remain unable to meet with him nearly two weeks after his arrest.