As fighting in Arakan State between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) has intensified, both national and foreign journalists are facing increasing challenges in obtaining information to report on the state’s affairs.

The last day to repay the previous monsoon season’s agricultural loans in Arakan State has been deferred to May 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a second extension of the original April 15 repayment date, said U Pyone Naing, manager of the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank in Manaung Township.

Arakan State’s Nantha Island and Mayyu Estuary were designated as a Ramsar wetland site on May 22, coinciding with International Day for Biological Diversity.

The onset of the southwest monsoon is due in the coming days, ushered in by Cyclone Amphan, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

Myanmar authorities interdicted two watercrafts carrying more than 130 tonnes of illegal timber on May 18, with 11 people on board the vessels arrested by the Danyawady Naval Force based in Maungdaw town, Arakan State. 

More than 800 IDPs who had been sheltering in Rathedaung town are returning to their homes in Kyauktan village to cultivate farmlands, and were spurred to leave the displacement camp in part out of fear that crowded conditions there left it susceptible to COVID-19 contagion.

Five people including 100-household heads from Khabaw and Marlar (Mro) villages in Kyauktaw Township were released on May 19, one day after being abducted, according to a 100-household head from Khabaw village. 

Four out of 20 people believed to have been detained by authorities this week in Ann Township were released on May 20, according to their family members.

The Union Election Commission on May 18 announced the termination of Dr. Aye Maung’s status as a Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker for Arakan State’s Ann Township and declared him ineligible to contest future elections, citing his 2019 conviction on high treason and incitement charges. 

The Committee for Scrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Land will meet with relevant departments in order to conduct a field inspection of confiscated farmland near Set Yoe Kya village in Sittwe Township, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation U Hla Kyaw told the Amyotha Hluttaw on May 18.

The Myanmar government is arranging to provide a second round of financial aid for IDPs and other under-resourced households during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the President’s Office.

Some boat services in Arakan State have suspended operations as Cyclone Amphan bears down on neighbouring India and Bangladesh, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to parts of Myanmar. 

A 32-year-old man from Phone Nyo Late Muslim village in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township was hit in the leg by a stray bullet while digging in a field near his home on Monday evening. 

University instructors should work from home during the coronavirus pandemic, the representative committee for the University Teachers’ Association said on May 17, amid apparent confusion over expectations for the upcoming academic year.

About 200 houses were destroyed by fire over the weekend in Lekka village, Mrauk-U Township, according to the village administrator and local residents.

Restaurants and other purveyors of dining experiences are facing mounting losses as demand has dipped amid COVID-19 restrictions, in place since April 11, that only allow for takeaway orders.

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.