With fighting flaring between Set Khaw and Manaung villages in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, on Wednesday evening, inhabitants of the two settlements have fled for the relative safety of nearby villages, according to local residents.

A helicopter carrying Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu and Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Win Myat Aye was targeted by machine gun fire in Rathedaung Township on Wednesday morning, a military officer who asked for anonymity told DMG.

Four artillery shells launched from Mt. Taung Shay, east of the village, at about 2 p.m. on Monday exploded in the village. The blasts forced villagers from their homes and to nearby villages, said U Thaw Bi Ta, the abbot of the local monastery.

Three student unions have demanded the formation of an independent, international investigative commission to uncover who was responsible for civilian deaths during months of fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State.

A man from Tinma village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township was hit and injured by a stray artillery shell at about 1 p.m. on February 18, locals said.

At least 11 infants are suffering from diarrhea at the Taung Min Kala IDP camp in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, due to a scarcity of water and resultant sanitation woes, according to camp inhabitants.

The munitions (UXO) landed in the village during fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army that broke out on February 14, when a house burned to the ground, said a villager who did not want to be named.

A 65-year-old Muslim man from Sin Thay Pyin village in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township died after stepping on a landmine in the early hours of February 18, according to family members.

Landmine risk education is to be provided in six Arakan State townships where the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army have continued to clash in recent months, according to the Rakhine Ethnics Congress, which will implement the program.

Arakan State Hluttaw Speaker U San Kyaw Hla has urged the government to do better in assisting internally displaced people (IDPs), including by welcoming international humanitarian groups previously barred from operating in conflict-affected parts of the state.

Thousands of jellyfish were found dead along Nadi Thaungyan Beach in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township on the morning of February 17, locals said.

More than 300 vehicles including cargo trucks and buses traveling along the Yangon to Sittwe road are stuck due to fighting near Rar Maung Bridge in Minbya Township, locals said.

A total of 29 local and international organisations released a joint statement on February 13 calling for the restoration of internet access in Arakan and Chin states.

Educators and MPs are asking armed groups to stop fighting during upcoming matriculation exams so that students preparing for the tests can focus on their studies.

The Myanmar Teachers’ Federation and a coalition of civil society organisations released a statement on February 15 denouncing those responsible for an artillery attack last week on a village school Buthidaung Township, which left 21 students injured.

As displaced populations have increased in recent months at refugee camps in Arakan State’s Rathedaung town, providing adequate shelter for the swell of IDPs has been a challenge, according to volunteers assisting them.

One of the 21 students injured when an artillery shell hit a village school in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township last week will be transferred to Yangon General Hospital to undergo jaw reconstructive surgery, a local administrator told DMG.

A civilian from Phar Pyo village in Minbya Township, Arakan State, reportedly emerged from a recent interrogation by the Tatmadaw with multiple injuries amid fighting between the military and Arakan Army nearby.

Twenty matriculation exam centers in Arakan State will be closed temporarily due to safety concerns, with students originally scheduled to sit for testing at the shuttered centers reassigned to other venues, according to Arakan State’s Department of Education.