The Rakhine Ethnics Congress (REC) on March 18 demanded the immediate end to a months-long internet blackout in parts of Arakan and Chin states, in order to give residents timely access to information on the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chin National League for Democracy has urged the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) to sign a ceasefire agreement as soon as possible, days after reports that more than 20 people were killed and more were injured when military fighter jets allegedly strafed a handful of villages in Chin State.

The Arakan American Community (AAC) is calling on the UN to declare a no-fly zone prohibiting military aircraft from taking to the skies above northern Arakan State, where the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army have fought fiercely for months.

Tatmadaw troops entered Tinma village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, and detained 10 residents on March 16, prompting worries for their safety among members of the detainees’ families.

The Arakan National Policy Coordination Committee (ANPCC) has urged the respective warring parties to quickly find a political solution to political issues in order to stem the repercussions of civil war.

Tatmadaw troops were killed and injured, and some military vehicles destroyed, when their convoys were attacked by mine detonations and gunfire on March 13 in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief said on Sunday.

An officer from the No. 5 Border Guard Force in Arakan State was trampled to death by a wild elephant on March 14 during the search for two missing women in Maungdaw Township, residents said.

Nine civilians from four villages in Kyauktaw Township were injured amid hostilities on the morning of March 16, said U Oo Tun Win, the Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker representing the Arakan State township.

First aid training is to be provided in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw, Rathedaung, Manaung, Kyaukphyu and Minbya townships, according to officials from the Sittwe branch of the Myanmar Red Cross Society, as conflict continues to wrack the region.

As residents of Arakan State townships where fighting has been occurring between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) have continued to flee to safer locations, around 500 people from Rathedaung Township recently arrived in Sittwe seeking shelter.

A teenage girl from Mrauk-U Township’s Tin Nyo IDP camp who suffered a gunshot wound on March 13 and had been receiving treatment at Sittwe General Hospital died late Saturday night, her family members said.

Two women who had been receiving medical treatment at Sittwe General Hospital for severe gunshots wounds succumbed to those injuries on Saturday, family members said.

Thousands of people have fled their homes since artillery shells landed in or near some villages in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township over recent days, lawmakers and residents said.

One of three women reported missing from a village in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township was found dead on Friday night with her throat slashed, according to the administrator of Thupanna village-tract.

Students currently sitting for matriculation exams are also finding their mettle, courage and focus put to the test in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships, where gunfire rang out, artillery shells exploded and several more civilian casualties were tallied over recent days in the war-torn region.

Twenty-two civilians sustained gunshot wounds after a military truck hit a remote landmine near Tinnyo village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township, according to residents, with one local official describing a subsequent reprisal on March 13 involving a hail of indiscriminate gunfire.

Three civilians were killed and five others were injured when gunfire erupted in Thazi village, Kyauktaw Township, at about 1 p.m. on March 13, according to residents.

Dozens of cattle have gone missing in Arakan State’s Pauktaw Township in recent years, according to residents, who say law enforcement has been slow to act on what they suspect is livestock theft.

Fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) that broke out on March 11 near Phat Kya village in Ponnagyun Township has prompted more than 600 residents from Phat Kya to flee to nearby villages, residents said.