More than 500 IDPs at the Zedipyin refugee camp in Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, returned to their homes on the morning of May 17.

Although the worst of Cyclone Amphan, currently churning in the Bay of Bengal, is projected to pass west of Arakan State, the Category 5 storm is a reminder that the region’s monsoon season is looming. It looms arguably larger for the tens of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Myanmar’s westernmost state.

Several houses reportedly caught fire last week in the largely deserted village of Lekka, Mrauk-U Township, where few residents remain after most relocated to IDP camps in April of last year.  

The Sittwe District Court has acquitted six men from Kyauktan village, Rathedaung Township, who were part of the sweeping detention of dozens of local residents last year and months-long subsequent legal proceedings. 

A coral reef off the coast of Pyin Kauk village in Manaung Township, Arakan State, is in need of systematic conservation, local residents say.

A recently married couple were arrested and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law earlier this month in connection with a deadly explosion near the village of U Daung in southern Maungdaw Township.

Nyaung Chaung IDP camp in Kyauktaw Township has run out of rice as the government has failed to deliver an expected shipment of the staple grain, according to the camp leader.

Five men from Sar Pyin village in Taungup Township were charged under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law at the Taungup Township Court on May 11. 

A unilateral ceasefire declared by the Tatmadaw over the weekend is being described by a prominent alliance of ethnic armed groups as a sham peace overture that does not realistically further prospects for ending armed conflict in Myanmar.

An artillery shell landed in Kay Tha village, part of Chin State’s Paletwa Township, on the afternoon of May 12, injuring a villager.

Tatmadaw troops descended upon the Sanyin IDP camp in Myebon Township on the morning of May 12, according to the camp’s manager, who said the discovery of a landmine nearby prompted the incursion.

Some villages in Manaung Township are experiencing drought-like conditions as wells and ponds dry up. Local residents say the resulting water shortages have been impacting their villages since the end of April. 

Locals have reported that two Muslim children were killed and another was injured following an explosion at Thayet Pyin village in Buthidaung Township. The incident occurred at around 11 a.m. on May 12.

A teacher, an official of a village administration department and another man in Maungdaw Township were charged under sections 50(a) and (i) of the Counter-Terrorism Law at the Maungdaw District Court on May 11.  

Three people were wounded by gunfire near Kispanadi Bridge at the entrance to Kyauktaw town, Arakan State, on the evening of May 11.

About 70 IDPs who left a displacement camp in Ann town five days ago intending to return to their home village of Gate Chaung have not yet reached the village. 

A case has been brought against the vice chair of the Arakan National Party for Taungup Township, U Wai Thaung, and two others under Section 50(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law. 

The Yangon-based Center for Diversity and National Harmony has donated personal protective equipment (PPE) in the fight against the deadly COVID-19 virus, to be used in Arakan State’s 17 townships.

A May 9 unilateral ceasefire declaration by the Tatmadaw appears unlikely to have a meaningful impact on life for millions of people in Myanmar’s war-torn west, where the Arakan Army’s status as a “terrorist group” means much of the region falls under a notable exception to the olive branch extended by the military.