Since a Tatmadaw troop fired guns at farmers heading to their farmland in Htate Wa Pyin and Yote Chaung villages in Mrauk-U Township, local farmers are finding it difficult to grow paddy according to villagers.

Torrential rainfall in Arakan State has produced floods in one hundred houses in Sin Baw Kaing IDP camp in Mrauk-U Township, according to relief workers.

Local residents from Kan Pyin village who returned from IDP camps in the Buthidaung downtown area to work on their village farmland have been detained for interrogation on 2 July by the Tatmadaw, said Amyotha Hluttaw MP for Buthidaung Township.

Nearly 300 acres of farmland in Pabechaung village in Kyauktaw Township cannot be cultivated to grow paddy because No.539 Light Infantry Regiment, which has been positioned near the village, prohibited farmers to do cultivation, a villager said.

The report titled “Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone and Local People’s Future” focused on 12 points and includes the responses of political parties, CSOs, elderly people from communities, farmers, women and fishermen. 

The ongoing armed conflicts between the Tatmadaw and the AA that started since early December now occur near Yangon-Sittwe road, many public buses running between Sittwe, Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U are being affected by the skirmishes.

Due to the growing number IDPs in northern Arakan State resulting from intensified clashes between the AA and the Tatmadaw the requirements for additional food supplies has increased in IDP camps.

A local resident from Pauk Taw Pyin village in Mrauk-U Township, who had been detained and interrogated by the Tatmadaw under the suspicion of being a member of the AA, died on the evening of July 1 while he has been in intensive care at Sittwe hospital.

Four villagers from Minbya and Mrauk-U Townships have been detained by a Tatmadaw troop, detainees said at the Sittwe district court on 28 June.

“CSOs in Arakan State have to depend on Internet access to contact donors. Now, communication with the donors is really difficult, so this impacts refugees. That’s why I’d like the government to lift the ban,”

The new town project “Sittwe Myanmar City 2030” which is planned to be developed on 7000 acres of land in the capital Sittwe might cause friction with local farmers, members of parliament from Sittwe Township said.

Since a military troop from the Tatmadaw entered Lai Gwin village in Rathedaung Township on Saturday, nearly 3000 villagers from Lai Gwin and Lamone Taing villages have fled to nearby villages, according to local residents.

Banking services in Mrauk-U are encountering challenges because eight Arakan townships lack Internet access, according to an official of the Global Treasure Bank (GTB) in Mrauk-U city.

The Myanmar Agriculture and Rural Development Bank cannot disburse funds if farmers don’t furnish documents with the signature of the appropriate ward/village administrator, said U Aung Kyaw Mya, a farmer from Pyaung Sake village.

More than 20 Chin organizations have called for an immediate stop to hostilities between the Tatmadaw and the AA in Arakan and Chin States and urge respective organizations to seek a solution by negotiating and reaching mutual agreements. 

The Tatmadaw said on 28 June that the AA detonated three remote controlled bombs and opened fire while a convoy of ICRC’s six trucks transported relief aid supplies for Maungdaw Region.

Political forces including a delegation that observed situations in Arakan State sent an open letter to President Win Myint on 27 June suggesting the President to deal with situations occurring in Arakan State. 

In allocating over K100 billions in the 2019- 2020 budget year, Ramree Township was given the highest amount of K9964 million and Rathedaung Township was given the lowest sum, which came to K3958 million.

Proposals submitted by MPs from the Arakan National Party were approved in the Arakan State parliament, where the majority are ANP members, but the government is wavering when it comes to putting the proposals into action, MPs said.