Junta soldiers and Muslim conscripts have been looting and torching homes and shops in Maungdaw Townships after residents fled amid fighting between the regime and the Arakkha Army (AA).

One Thandwe resident said: “Junta soldiers have fired shots at road users since the fighting broke out. So, the AA has told residents not to travel on the road. There has been no trade since. As there are no new stocks, prices have increased.”

A junta airstrike on Kinchaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, where fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) is escalating, killed three people and wounded five others on Tuesday afternoon.

A local man from Bogale Village in Kyeintalin Sub-township of Gwa Township, Arakan State, was reportedly taken by members of the military intelligence and police on Monday.

The storm primarily affected Sittwe, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Mimbya, Myebon and Ramree townships, causing massive destruction.

The Arakkha Army (AA) seized the military’s Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 345 and 352 near Tatminchaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township, on Monday, according to a ground source.

At least 1,000 local people from villages in northern Maungdaw Township on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border have reportedly fled to Bangladesh since March due to ongoing military tensions and conflict.

The rate of fighting has increased in Arakan State because the Arakkha Army (AA) has significantly expanded its offensive to capture and control the Maungdaw border region.

Three civilians were injured when their village in Thandwe Township was hit by a junta artillery strike at around 1 p.m. on Monday.

Junta soldiers and members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) are stationed in downtown Maungdaw, tightening security checks on local people attempting to flee at entries and exits of the town,

There is no demand for cashew nuts, a local cash crop, as trade has been seriously disrupted by armed conflicts in Arakan State, according to local cashew nut growers.

Some local residents in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, have reportedly fled to mainland Myanmar including Yangon due to fierce fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) in recent days.

Thousands of Muslims from several villages in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships have fled to safer locations since May 5 due to the possibility of fighting near their villages.

Forty-nine villages in Ponnagyun Township are facing serious water shortages as lakes and reservoirs have dried up due to intense heat, according to the Ponnagyun Youth Association(PYA).

A village administrator in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, where tensions between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) are escalating, has reportedly been detained and gone missing since his arrest.

The regime said it had sent a cargo ship carrying more than 1,500 tonnes of food, consumer goods, cooking oil, medicines, building materials and charcoal for the benefit of civilians in Sittwe.

Arakkha Army (AA) chief Twan Mrat Naing has responded to criticisms regarding the Muslim issue in Arakan State, where the regime and the AA are locked in fierce fighting.

At least 15 people are dead and 27 others were injured after the regime bombed a Buddhist monastery in a Magway Region village where locals were meeting on May 9, Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government (NUG) said in a statement.

Local people in Arakan State who have lost limbs due to landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs) are struggling to make ends meet due to lack of assistance.