Residents and shopkeepers told DMG that there are shortages of food items in Arakan State as the Myanmar military has blockaded roads and waterways in the state following renewed fighting this week between the junta and Arakan Army (AA).

One civilian was killed and at least five others were wounded by junta artillery strikes in Arakan State’s Minbya Township on Friday, DMG has learnt.

Maung Myat Htoo Naing uploaded a video on his Facebook account that showed dozens of fully armed junta soldiers in five military trucks arresting four residents in Sittwe’s Mingan Ward on the evening of November 15.

The Arakan Army (AA) launched an offensive on a Border Guard Force (BGF) outpost near Kahteela Village, part of Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township, at about 8 a.m. on Saturday, according to local people.

An elderly man in his 60s from Minbya’s Alepine Ward succumbed to shrapnel wounds to his neck due to the junta’s shelling, said a source close to the family of the victim.

About 50 people were detained and their mobile phones were confiscated by junta soldiers, said a family member of an educational employee.

Banks have closed in Pauktaw, Rathedaung, Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Ponnagyun townships in Arakan State due to the renewed fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), said residents.

It is difficult to know the exact number of people trapped, but according to those who are trapped, it is known to be in the hundreds, including those who are in poor health.

Junta soldiers arrested eight correspondent students near Lawkananda Pagoda in Sittwe on Thursday morning and their whereabouts remain unknown, said an official from the Arakan Students Union.

At least 20 casualties were reported in Pauktaw, Arakan State, on November 16 due to a junta artillery bombardment and indiscriminate gunfire by regime soldiers, with the Arakan Army vowing retaliation for the killings.

Distance learners at Sittwe University are taking their exams in fear due to tight security checks imposed by the Myanmar military regime in the Arakan State capital.

Residents are concerned that they would lose contact with the outside world because of the power cut.

More than 40,000 people have been displaced in Arakan State since renewed fighting broke out on Monday between rhe Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), DMG has learnt.

Since November 14, the villagers of Donenyo have been sheltering among the forested foothills of Mayu mountain range, about four miles from the village.

The AA attacked the BGF outpost at around 7 a.m. on November 16, and fierce clashes were reported thereafter as the military conducted airstrikes and fired mortar shells, locals said.

Fifty-two civilian casualties were reported as regime battalions carried out indiscriminate shooting and shelling in response to Arakan Army (AA) attacks during the first three days of renewed hostilities in Arakan and Chin states.

At least four residents of Sittwe were reportedly arrested by junta soldiers in civilian clothes on November 13, according to family members of the arrestees.

Myanmar’s military regime unleashed a relentless bombardment of Pauktaw on Thursday afternoon, following the Arakan Army’s seizure of the central police station in Pauktaw town, according to residents.

The AA launched attacks on Taroneain tactical command and Nonebu tactical command on Tuesday morning. The fighting was fierce as the regime defended its territorial holdings with air and artillery support.