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.

Some IDP camps in Arakan State are facing food shortages because they have not received rice from the government, said managers of the camps.

A teacher and child from Taung Bwe village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township were wounded when an artillery shell exploded in front of their house at around 9:30 p.m. on May 8, according to family members.

Over 70 residents of Ye Shin village in Myebon Township were taken in for questioning by the Tatmadaw over the weekend, with the elderly among them later released but dozens still in military custody.

The management teams of IDP camps in Kyauktaw Township are struggling to transport rice supplies to their camps despite the government having provided 500 sacks of the staple grain for the Wah Taung and Taungmin Kalar IDP camps, according to their managers.

A woman working at a teashop near Rar Maung Bridge in Minbya Township was shot in the foot on May 7 while she was waitressing near a police checkpoint close to the bridge.

Police have re-arrested five men from Taungup Township who were originally detained for alleged links to the Arakan Army, after releasing them briefly on May 7 due to lack of evidence. They were taken back into custody the same day, according to family members.

About 70 IDPs making their way from a refugee camp in Ann town, Arakan State, back to their homes in Gate Chaung village have been delayed en route as they were held up for questioning at the Kazukaing checkpoint on May 7.

The Tatmadaw has stepped up security at the entrance of Taungup town after a group of people in the guise of police recently attempted to detain some National League for Democracy members in the area, according to town residents.

Myanmar security forces conducting operations along the border with Bangladesh found World Food Programme-marked food packages hidden by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in a bush near the boundary line, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief said on May 6.

Diarrhoea has broken out at the Myaung Nar IDP camp in northern Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township, according to the manager of the camp.

Masks not approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are being sold openly in the central market of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, DMG has learned.

Some members of the National League for Democracy in Arakan State’s Taungup Township have gone into hiding, fearing for their safety following recent threats to local party backers and in one instance an attempted “arrest” by a group masquerading as police personnel. 

A social aid group in Lay Taung town, Ramree Township, is entertaining people under quarantine in the town with songs.

Some people returning from Yangon, Ayeyarwady and Bago regions have entered Thandwe without undergoing 21-day facility quarantine as mandated by the government, DMG has found.

A man from Bu Shwe Maw village in Taungup Township, southern Arakan State, was abducted by the Arakan Army (AA) on May 5, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief said on Tuesday. 

More than 2,000 people from the villages of Min, Myit Nar and Htauk Chay in Minbya Township, Arakan State, fled their homes on May 5, fearing they would be interrogated by a military column that entered the settlements.

A 42-year-old woman from Ponnagyun town, Arakan State, was arrested by a group of authorities that included Tatmadaw and police personnel and the local ward administrator on the morning of May 6, witnesses said.