More houses caught fire in Arakan State’s Pauktaw town on Saturday after being hit by artillery shells fired by junta warships and the No. 12 Police Battalion in Sittwe.

Currently, the two sides are fighting in seven townships in Arakan State including Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Pauktaw, Kyauktaw, Minbya and Myebon, as well as Paletwa in neighbouring Chin State.

The AA attacked the BGF outpost at around 5 p.m. on November 24, and fierce clashes were reported thereafter as the military fired mortar shells.

A local resident was killed and several homes and religious buildings were damaged after junta jet fighters attacked downtown Loilempi and nearby areas.

Locals said that the heavy weapons hit on the Ponnagyun market was a deliberate attack by the regime to cause harm to the civilians during the latest hostilities in Arakan State.

“We heard loud explosions. Three artillery shells landed and exploded in the village, killing a man and injuring four women,” said a local woman from Laigwin Village.

As Kyaukphyu is an island town, residents rely on other townships to buy food supplies. The town mainly sources rice from Sittwe, Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships, with the bulk of shipments made by water.

Junta artillery strikes caused a fire at Myoma Market in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun town on Friday, according to local residents.

A 30-year-old woman and a man were killed by a junta artillery strike on Tuesday. A 3-year-old toddler and three men in their 30s were injured.

U Kovissa aka Nyein Chan Win, the Buddhist monk detained, has been using the “Ashin Kor Wae Da” Facebook account to spread propaganda with the aim of disrupting national stability, the junta-affiliated newspaper said.

"We have run out of money and face many difficulties. We currently eat one meal per day,” said a correspondent student stuck in Kyauktaw.

Eight residents of Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, who were arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) during the 2022 fighting, were sentenced to three years in prison under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code.

Shells fired by the junta’s warships and No. 12 Police Battalion based in Sittwe landed on No. 1 Ward in Pauktaw at 12 p.m., and houses caught fire, a witness told DMG.

Myanmar’s military regime has detained 46 civilians in the Arakan State capital of Sittwe as of Wednesday since the renewed fighting broke out on November 13.

The Education Department in Naypyitaw has instructed the Arakan State Education Office to keep schools open in the state, but students are not showing up, said U Ba Htwee Sein, head of the Arakan State Education Office.

Two residents were killed and another was injured after mortar shells landed and exploded in Arakan State’s Minbya and Mrauk-U townships on November 22, according to locals.

Fifteen people were killed and 53 others were injured in the latest Arakan State fighting, according to a DMG tally. Among the casualties are more than 30 men, 20 women and 11 children.

Combined forces including the KNLA attacked the battalion 36 on November 18, resulting in fierce fighting. The regime has closed the roads since November 20.

Food and accommodation for people displaced by the fighting are provided by their host communities, where displaced people are currently taking refuge.