Political analysts say Myanmar’s military regime is using the release of political prisoners to draw attention and gain support for the upcoming elections.

Tensions between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) are running high in Sittwe, the Arakan State capital, with skirmishes reported between the two sides, according to local residents and military sources.

The United League of Arakan (ULA), the political wing of the Arakan Army, is reportedly planning to establish a new village in the Maungdaw region, which borders Bangladesh, in an effort to enhance municipal administration and security.

Villages along Gwa’s coastline in Arakan State are facing daily threats from heavy weapons fired by Myanmar Navy warships, local residents report.

The IIMM said it has received an increasing number of reports of international crimes committed by the regime.

Tobacco farmers in Arakan State say the industry is struggling due to a lack of market access and declining demand.

Hundreds of pigs have reportedly died of an unknown illness in villages including Khwasone, Taungmyint, Okkan, Tinhteinkan and Simoung in Mrauk-U Township since early November.

Junta soldiers are reportedly massing in large numbers ahead of a planned re-entry into Momeik in northern Shan State and Mogok in Mandalay Region.

Myanmar's military regime has continued arresting civilians in Sittwe this month for various reasons, heightening concern among local residents.

Myanmar's military regime has launched an offensive against Arakan Army (AA)-controlled areas in Ayeyarwady Region in recent days, sparking intense clashes in Pathein and Thabaung townships.

Residents and people close to the ULA report that, in addition to cleaning pagodas and temples, the moats and ditches around Mrauk-U are being systematically dammed, and ancient sites are being restored to their original states.

In an era when daily news from Arakan is often fragmented and fast-changing, DMG's Weekly Highlights of Arakan brings clarity, depth, and context to the stories that matter most.

Rakhine Nationalities Party (RNP) Chairman U Ba Shein has pledged to expand and renovate the defunct airport in Manaung Township, Arakan State, and to provide electricity through a solar plant.

India has reopened the Paletwa-Mizoram trade route after more than two weeks of closure aimed at containing a diarrhea outbreak, according to local traders.

Monasteries and homes were reduced to ashes in Myanmar's military regime's artillery and drone attacks in conflict-hit Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State.

Consumption of Mitragyna speciosa leaves - widely used by both adults and children in Arakan State - is reportedly on the rise again, according to local residents.

Four civilians, including a child, were killed and eight others injured as the Myanmar military regime carried out airstrikes on Arakan Army-controlled areas in Ponnagyun, Kyaukphyu, Gwa and Mrauk-U townships from November 16-22, according to a DMG tally.

Data For Myanmar has reported that more than 110,000 homes have been burned down during fighting and military conflict across the country in the nearly four years since Myanmar's coup.

Ethnic Mro people in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, who have fled their homes due to threats posed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), are currently facing food and shelter shortages and are in urgent need of assistance.