Amid heightened monitoring for potential coronavirus cases across Myanmar, swab samples from a sick man who succumbed to his illness on April 7 in Arakan State’s Taungup Township are to be tested in Yangon, according to the Department of Public Health.

The Arakan State parliament Speaker and Ola Almgren, who serves as the UN Resident Coordinator in Myanmar as well as the country’s UN Humanitarian Coordinator, had an online discussion about Arakan State affairs on April 5, with the conversation touching on a variety of issues facing the volatile region.

The families of 15 people detained by the Tatmadaw while transporting government-provided rice to Nyaung Chaung IDP camp in Kyauktaw Township are concerned for their safety, Pyithu Hluttaw member U Oo Tun Win said.

A man sustained a gunshot wound on April 7 while traveling by boat near Kan Htaung Gyi town in Arakan State’s Myebon Township, locals said.

With the government announcing plans to distribute a package of staple food supplies to “people from the basic strata of society without regular income” amid the coronavirus pandemic and as Thingyan approaches, Arakanese civil society organisations have said displaced populations should be among those receiving the assistance.

An unseasonal weather forecast is causing concern for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State, where more than 150,000 people are sheltering in displacement camps due to clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army.

Nearly 2,300 people sheltering at the Nyaung Chaung IDP camp in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township are in need of water supplies and other necessary provisions including food, according to the manager of the camp.

A power outage affecting Rathedaung, Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships since April 2 is making life difficult for residents of the northern Arakan State region, Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker Daw Khin Saw Wai told DMG. 

A 57-year-old man was killed by a landmine on the evening of April 5 in Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, while he was looking for his buffaloes.

The Tatmadaw arrested five men from Sar Pyin village in Arakan State’s Taungup Township on April 5, village administrator U Win Myint told DMG.

A teacher living in Maungdaw town and another man from Ngwe Taung village in southern Maungdaw Township have been detained by police, according to a local MP.

Nine disability rights organisations have urged the government and privately run media to include sign language and subtitles when broadcasting information to the public about COVID-19.

A man and a woman from two villages in Paletwa Township, Chin State, have been detained by the Tatmadaw and stand accused of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA).

It has been almost 10 months since the government cut off mobile internet access in eight townships of Arakan State and Paletwa Township in Chin State, where conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) has persisted for well over a year.

The number of passengers on Sittwe-Yangon bus lines has decreased significantly due to growing fears of a coronavirus outbreak in Myanmar, according to some operators of the route.

Tatmadaw troops conducting a surprise check at Thayet Oak village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, arrested three people on April 1, villagers said.

A woman and two men were injured on April 3 amid clashes involving heavy weapons and small arms fire near Kissapanadi Bridge in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, according to family members of the victims.

Ko Than Hla, who was imprisoned under Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law for demanding justice in the killings of innocent civilians in Arakan State, was released from Sittwe Prison on Friday morning, having served out his 15-day sentence.

A brief but booming eruption of small and heavy arms fire heard in Kyauktaw town late on Friday afternoon has left locals on edge, according to residents and a member of the Arakan State parliament.