The Tatmadaw has accused the Arakan Army (AA) of detaining a police officer from the force based in Mrauk-U, Arakan State, on the morning of April 26.

A local food shop was hit by an artillery shell on April 27 in the town of Mrauk-U, Arakan State, injuring the shop’s owner and two of his employees. 

Residents of Mrauk-U, Arakan State, are concerned for their safety after the sound of gunfire could be heard across the ancient city on Sunday evening.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) who are sheltering at schools may soon face troubles with their living arrangements as it is likely that the schools will reopen in June, said U Oo Tun Win, the Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker for Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township. 

The Sanyin IDP camp in Myebon Township, Arakan State, is expecting to face a food shortage in the coming days because relief aid groups have been unable to reach the settlement.

A 13-year-old girl living in Gantgaw Myaing village, Buthidaung Township, received a minor injury to her right foot when artillery fire struck the village at around 10 a.m. on April 26, according to a local official.

People travelling via land or air routes to the Arakan State capital Sittwe will be quarantined for 21 days as part of efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19, according to the Arakan Humanitarian Coordination Team (AHCT).

The Shwe Pyi Tan ferry service in Arakan State, which was suspended earlier this month as part of a raft of measures put in place nationwide to prevent the spread of coronavirus, is to resume operations on April 27, said the manager of the boat service.

With the monsoon season arriving and forecasts for widespread rain over the coming days, IDP camp managers and lawmakers are expressing concern about the adequacy of accommodation at the temporary settlements in Arakan State, where more than 150,000 people are displaced.

The camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) at Zedipyin village, where more than 1,000 IDPs are sheltering in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, is facing a water shortage, according to managers of the camp.

The Department of Disaster Management is providing financial assistance to homeowners whose houses have been destroyed by conflict in Arakan State, according to the state department’s director, U Win Zaw Htay.

A 5-year-old girl was wounded by a stray bullet as fighting flared between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) near a mountain range west of Khami Chaung village in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township on April 24, said village administrator U Win Maung.

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement issued a press release on April 21 saying plans are in place for COVID-19 preventive and containment measures in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs), even as some in those settlements express doubts about their pandemic preparations.

Prospects for peace in Arakan State are waning as the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) continues to rise and conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army escalates, the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) said in a statement on April 23.

COVID-19 test samples taken from war-torn Arakan State will henceforth be sent to Yangon by air, according to the state Department of Public Health, as 20 nose and mouth swabs were flown to the National Health Laboratory in the commercial capital on Wednesday.

Four people were killed and six were injured by heavy weapons fire on April 22 in Paletwa Township, Chin State, according to organisations that assist internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region.

A third straight day of gunfire in Arakan State’s Minbya Township killed four people and injured six others on the evening of April 22, according to locals.