Muslim elders in Maungdaw District issued a statement on August 23 saying the skeletons found in Htan Shauk Khan Village were the remains of junta soldiers killed in the fighting, and that junta accusations that the AA killed more than 600 Muslims are a fabrication and a lie.

Hundreds of traders are reportedly stranded after India closed the main border route for trade between India and Arakan State.

Since November 2023, when the Arakan Army (AA) began battles for control of towns in Arakan State, the military regime has banned offshore fishing in Kyaukpyu Township.

Justice for Myanmar (JFM) has warned that the military regime is attempting to evade international sanctions under the new name it has adopted, the State Security and Peace Commission.

Fighting has been ongoing in the jade mining hub Hpakant Township, Kachin State, and the military regime is reportedly sending hundreds of additional troops.

The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has announced that phase one of the elections will be held in three townships in Arakan State, Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung, which are still under the control of Myanmar's military regime.

The United Wa State Army (UWSA), the most powerful ethnic armed group in Myanmar, has said it will no longer provide weapons or financial assistance to any armed group.

Junta-controlled state-owned dailies such as Myanma Alinn and The Mirror (Kyemon) have reportedly been refusing to accept requests from family members to publish missing persons reports in their pages.

The Arakan Army (AA) is working to secure the border and stabilise the region between Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, and Bangladesh, according to locals.

Some IDP students are struggling to continue their education due to poverty and lack of school supplies such as books and stationery. There are also children who cannot afford to buy stationery and are unable to attend school, and they need support.

The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) announced on August 18 that the first phase of the election will begin on December 28, 2025, and that the election will be held in multiple stages.

Residents of more than 20 villages near the Sittwe-Ponnagyun border have been forced to evacuate to safer areas due to fears of further fighting between Myanmar's military regime and the Arakan Army (AA).

Myanmar's military regime has alleged that over 600 Muslims in Htan Shauk Khan Village, part of Arakan State's Buthidaung Township, were massacred by the Arakan Army (AA) last year.

At least 37 civilians were killed and injured due to heavy weapons and airstrikes by Myanmar's military regime in the six months between February 20, when fighting between the junta and Arakan Army (AA) began in Kyaukphyu, Arakan State, and August 17.

Daily clashes between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) in recent days have forced local people from three villages in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, to flee to safer locations.

Fighting between Myanmar's military regime and the Arakan Army (AA) continues on three fronts in the border areas, including Arakan State, the ethnic armed group said in a statement on Saturday.

Myanmar's military regime has begun preparations for elections slated for late this year or early 2026 in the three Arakan State townships under its control.

A robbery at gunpoint occurred at a house in Taungyin Ward, Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, which is controlled by the military regime.

"There are still scattered regional defence forces and groups in Myanmar's heartland today. We need to work with them to find solutions, to provide them with the resources they need to carry out their military operations, including finances, weapons, food, and medicine, so that we can work together militarily and politically," U Myo Htike Tan Thein, chairman of the NRA foreign affairs commission, told DMG.