Myanmar’s military regime blew up a bridge near Kyeintali Town, which links Thandwe and Gwa townships, on Wednesday in an apparent bid to prevent Arakkha Army (AA) troops from advancing on the town.

Frontline troops of the MNDAA declared the liberation of Lashio, the capital city of northern Shan State, on the morning of July 25.

“The grassroots are worried about the risk of landmines when they go to their farmlands and the forests, but they have no choice,” said a local woman in Minbya.

Heavy rains have triggered flooding in Arakan State’s Taungup, Thandwe and Gwa townships, according to residents.

Residents speculated that the bodies were civilians killed by the regime in neighbouring Thandwe Township, where many displaced or detained civilians remain unaccounted for amid more than three months of military-AA conflict.

Some residents have fled Gwa Township in Arakan State to Ayeyarwady and Yangon regions following increased military activities in the township.

“Children and elderly people are particularly affected. We are concerned for our health as medicines are not available,” said a displaced woman. 

Sagaing Region was hit hardest as 67,598 houses were burnt there, followed by Magwe and Mandalay regions and Arakan and Chin states, where a combined 22,729 houses were torched. 

The regime has planted numerous landmines near Kyeintali Town. Junta soldiers issued a warning on June 30, telling residents not to go to certain places where they had planted landmines. 

Local people have accused the Myanmar junta and military-trained armed Muslim men of killing some residents who were trapped by fighting in downtown Maungdaw, Arakan State.

The regime set up five military outposts along Mt. Mel, between Kyeinchaung and Khamaungdaw villages, to defend its Western Command headquarters against the AA onslaught, according to a military source.

The military is frequently firing heavy weapons into the villages bordering Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships, causing panic among residents.

Through local ward and village administrators, the regime has barred residents from going out to sea and fishing, with no indication of when the ban might be lifted.

India reopened the Mizoram-Paletwa route on July 19, but only food supplies are currently allowed to be transported, according to merchants.

Civilian casualties were reported after an artillery shell fired from the Maung Shwe Lay naval base about 20 miles from Thandwe fell and exploded near the village on the evening of July 22.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and a Mogok-based unit of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) have reportedly seized a junta camp inside a prison near Panmahteik in the eastern part of Mogok, Mandalay Region.

Five days after the regime announced that U Myint Swe could not perform his duties due to a neurological disorder on July 18, Min Aung Hlaing declared himself acting president of Myanmar.

Five local people including a pregnant woman from Abel Village and two others from Jeittaw Village were killed in a junta artillery assault on July 19.

USDP spokesman U Hla Thein said so at a debate titled and unironically punctuated as “Federalism or Terrorism?”, organised by the regime on Sunday.