Myanmar’s military regime released 3,015 prisoners in a mass amnesty to mark the Myanmar New Year (Thingyan) on April 17.

There were 20 traffic accidents reported in Sittwe from April 13 to 15, according to figures compiled by the Shwe Yaung Myitta Foundation, a local charity in the Arakan State capital.

At least 28 people, including some junta officials, were injured when an anti-regime drone attacked a Thingyan pavilion in Loikaw, Kayah State, on April 15, according to sources on the ground and Myanmar’s military regime.

The number of Myanmar migrant labourers working in Thailand who returned to their homeland for the Thingyan holiday is down from previous years, according to Myanmar’s Labor Attaché Office.

The number of people killed in a junta airstrike on Pazigyi Village in Sagaing Region’ Kanbalu Township has risen to at least 171, according to ground sources.

Myanmar’s military regime has sentenced 151 civilians to death during the two-plus years since the coup in February 2021, according to an April 11 press release from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which has been tracking casualties and detentions since the putsch.

A bomb blast at a Thingyan water festival pavilion near Yan Taing Aung Pagoda in Lashio, northern Shan State, has reportedly killed six people and injured two, according to sources on the ground.

A Border Guard Force member was killed on Tuesday when a grenade exploded at a BGF outpost in Kyaukpandu Village, part of Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, according to initial reports.

Arakan Army (AA) chief Major-General Twan Mrat Naing will reportedly attend the Chin National Spring Revolution Day ceremony to be held on April 13.

There are many traffic accidents in Arakan State each year during the Thingyan holiday period, and social organisations are emphasising the importance for drivers to operate their vehicles with special care.

They were among the first to be displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in December 2018.

The price of a bag of rice in Arakan State has increased by up to K10,000 per sack ahead of the Thingyan holiday period, according to local rice merchants.

People in Arakan State have called on authorities to improve the delivery of healthcare services in the state by providing much-needed doctors and medicines, as countries around the globe marked World Health Day last week.

Refugee returnees from five villages near Shwe Kokku returned home voluntarily, said a resident of Chaungzon Village.

Myanmar’s Labor Attaché Office is taking steps to help nearly 1,600 recently laid-off Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand get their jobs back.

Arakan Army (AA) chief Major-General Twan Mrat Naing has thanked Arakanese people for their help in various ways to the armed organisation over the past 14 years as the AA celebrated the 14th anniversary of its founding on Monday.

The parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and ethnic armed organisations across Myanmar were among those sending messages of felicitation to mark the 14th anniversary of the founding of the Arakan Army (AA) on Monday.

At least 11 people were killed and seven others were injured after the junta launched an airstrike on Waibula town, part of Chin State’s Falam Township, on Monday, according to a source on the ground.

There is already a shortage of fuel at filling stations in some Arakan State townships, and people may find it difficult to use fuel during this year’s Thingyan holiday.