Fierce fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) has reportedly been ongoing in Gwa Township, Arakan State, since December 10.

The AA has captured 11 townships in Arakan State over the past year, as well as Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chin State, since the latest fighting with the Myanmar military began in November 2023.

The AA besieged the battalion for months before launching an offensive on October 14. The battle lasted about 55 days, making it the longest battle for control of a junta battalion in Arakan State.

Arakan residents in Yangon have expressed concerns for their safety as the regime is stepping up enforcement of the conscription law in parts of the commercial capital.

AVIC is one of the world’s biggest defence contractors, and the Chinese aviation firm supplies aviation fuel, weapons and technologies to the regime as it commits war crimes across Myanmar.

Muslim armed groups such as ARSA, RSO and ARA are active in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships and along the Mayu mountain range, where they are known to arrest, kill, abduct, shoot and extort local residents.

Displaced people already facing water shortages in November are concerned about the severe water scarcity they are likely to face in the hot season.

The regime, losing control of towns and villages in offensives by resistance forces, has been targeting civilians with air and artillery arrests, as well as arbitrarily arresting and jailing civilians.

Fighting has escalated in Taungup Township as the Arakkha Army (AA) attacks the junta’s No. 5 Military Operations Command.

In November, three IDP children and two elderly women from Ann Township reportedly died from cold-related illnesses that could not be treated.

The AA took control of the military regime’s Border Guard Force Battalion No. 5 on December 8 and detained Brigadier-General Thurein Tun, who was attempting to flee the border guard force base, said U Khaing Thukha, spokesperson for the AA.

The regime relied on airstrikes in clashes with the AA and dropped 500-lb bombs on the ethnic armed group's positions on Monday.

Family members said they are worried about the safety of five local men from northern Arakan State who were abducted by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) last week.

Among hundreds of thousands of people displaced by fighting between the military regime and the Arakkha Army (AA) in Arakan State, many have fled to AA-controlled areas, while around 100,000 have opted for townships in Ayeyarwady Region including Pathein, Ngathaingchaung, Yekyi, Kyonepyaw, Chaungtha and Thabaung.

On Sunday, administrators and village heads in Thein Tan, Yar Tan, Kyar Mathauk and Naryi Kan villages were summoned to a meeting where they were ordered to tell their residents to leave the villages within three days.

Fighting continues in Maungdaw Township as junta soldiers fleeing Border Guard Force Battalion No. 5 are being hunted down by the AA, according to the ethnic armed group.

U Ko Ko, chairman of the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC), said that both domestic and foreign organisations will be allowed to monitor the elections that Myanmar’s military regime has scheduled for November 2025.

The AA began attacking junta reinforcements heading to Gwa Township on November 24. The column reportedly included 184 junta soldiers from battalions in Ayeyarwady and Yangon regions.

Farmers in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township are experiencing a labour shortage during the rice harvesting season, forcing them to adopt a system where workers receive half of the harvested rice as payment.