Myanmar is expected to experience strong El Niño conditions toward the end of 2026, potentially triggering severe weather events, according to a September announcement by the junta-controlled Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH).

Myanmar President and former military chief Min Aung Hlaing has called for renewed cooperation with the United States and urged Washington to reconsider sanctions against him, as his administration seeks to rebuild relations with Western countries after years of diplomatic isolation.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested across Myanmar over their social media activity and online expression since 2022, including at least 20 in Arakan State, according to a report by Data for Myanmar (D4M).

Fierce clashes between the military regime and the Arakan Army along the Sittwe-Ponnagyun border have forced residents of nearby villages to flee their homes, leaving them in urgent need of humanitarian aid, according to local sources.

The military regime entices its soldiers with promotions and cash bonuses while providing them with narcotics before sending them into battle in Arakan State, according to prisoners of war captured by the Arakan Army.

The Arakan Army intercepted and repelled a junta offensive advancing from the Thaphanyaung area in Mindon Township, Magway Region, toward the Maei mountain pass route leading into Arakan State, forcing junta troops to retreat.

"Junta jet fighters carried out bombardments throughout the night, focusing on Ponnagyun Town and surrounding areas," a local resident said. "We confirmed that two local residents were killed in Phetkya Village. Everyone in this area is now living under constant military alert."

The Department of Law Enforcement and Public Security (DLEPS) under the United League of Arakan (ULA) has arrested two men for allegedly sexually assaulting a three-year-old child in Yahaiphyar Village, Gwa Township, Arakan State.

Elderly residents living at Thandar Myay Home for the Aged in Kyaukphyu, Arakan State, an area controlled by the military regime, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance due to critical shortages of food and essential medicines, according to local sources.

Shelling, arbitrary detentions, and aggressive troop movements by junta navy warships in Werathani Township, Arakan State, have left local residents and displaced civilians struggling with severe livelihood and survival hardships, according to local sources.

Facing military setbacks along the Sittwe Township border, the military regime has launched relentless heavy artillery bombardments targeting Mosel Island in Rathedaung Township, local residents said.

GSCN and SYCB said that while revolutionary forces are fighting against the military dictatorship and seeking to establish a federal democratic union, armed clashes and tensions have also emerged among some revolutionary organisations.

The military regime, attempting to reclaim lost territory in Arakan State through combined army, navy, and air offensives, has ordered its troops to fight without retreat, according to junta soldiers captured by or surrendered to the Arakan Army.

A junta fighter jet bombed a mountain range near Thitpotetaung Village in Anjanapura Township, an area under Arakan Army control in Arakan State, on the afternoon of September 21, according to local sources.

A junta fighter jet launched airstrikes on Taungphu Village in Werathani Township, Arakan State, early on September 21, killing a local woman and injuring another, according to local sources.

Severe riverbank erosion along the Kaladan River has left more than 150 residents of Apaukwa Village in Kyauktaw Township facing acute shelter and livelihood hardships, according to local sources.

Domestic and international media outlets reporting on Arakan State news can contact Justice For Arakan to verify the accuracy of information, according to Daw Mya Zan Wai, Deputy Director of the United League of Arakan (ULA) Permanent Secretariat.

Ongoing military conflict in Arakan State over the past two years, spanning 2025 and 2026, has reduced the state’s cultivated paddy land to around 500,000 acres, according to agricultural observers.

Two junta warships opened fire with heavy and light weapons on two Muslim fishing boats off Werathani Township in Arakan State, destroying both vessels, detaining eight fishermen, and subsequently abandoning them at sea, according to local sources.