A fifth meeting of the Myanmar-Bangladesh joint working group on repatriation of Muslim refugees was held via video conferencing on Tuesday, according to reports from the junta-run newspaper Myanma Alin. 

Nearly three years after the installation of power cables, over 40 villages in Manaung Township still do not have access to electricity, according to residents. 

Seven houses were destroyed in a clash between the Myanmar military and a coalition headed by the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO), a military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), near Kyaukneit village in Palaw Township, Tanintharyi Region, according to a ground source. 

Eleven homes in the airport area of Ann Township have been ordered to be demolished, but they will not demolish their homes, according to the home owners. 

High costs of living have forced some distance learners that come from other parts of Arakan State to study at Sittwe University to stay at monasteries. 

Myanmar’s military regime has tightened security and conducted interrogations of residents in Mon State’s Kyaikto Township since Monday, following an attack on a police outpost last week, according to locals. 

Internally displaced people (IDPs) are calling for more effective healthcare services in Arakan State’s displacement camps due to the rising dengue fever, malaria and diarrhoea caseloads that accompany the arrival of the monsoon season each year. 

Hundreds of Myanmar military soldiers have defected to the Arakan Army (AA) since last year’s coup, said U Khaing Thukha, a spokesman for the ethnic armed group, at a press conference on Tuesday. 

The Myanmar regime’s second in command, Vice Senior General Soe Win, has called on his troops in Arakan State to be ready to fight, as the Arakan Army’s spokesman on Tuesday accused the junta of preparing to wage a full-scale war.

An internally displaced person (IDP) was killed and another injured in a landmine explosion near Sanyin village in Arakan State’s Myebon Township on Tuesday morning. 

The Arakan Army and National Unity Government are on friendly terms, the AA spokesman said at a press conference on Tuesday, during which he also criticised the NUG’s adversary, Myanmar’s military regime, and junta efforts to disrupt the parallel administration that the AA is spearheading in Arakan State. 

Kyaukphyu Airport in Arakan State is set to undergo renovations during the current fiscal year, with runway and parking lot upgrades expected. 

Coalition troops headed by the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO) reportedly occupied a police outpost on the Myanmar-Thai border in Kayin State early Monday morning. 

More than 2,100 people have been displaced by heavy artillery fire from the Myanmar military in Kyaukkyi Township, Bago Region, over recent days, with scores of junta troops entering villages in the area, according to locals. 

A farmer in Arakan State’s Pauktaw Township was struck dead by lightning on Monday morning, according to locals. 

The Sittwe Township municipality has instructed residents to dump their garbage only between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. 

The Department of Archaeology and National Museum in Mrauk-U has not yet been able to begin removing illegal settlements from the ancient city, ahead of the expected visit of experts evaluating the former Arakanese royal capital’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage status. 

As the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) becomes the latest ethnic armed group to meet with Myanmar’s military regime for rebooted peace talks this week, observers continue to view the junta-led process dubiously.

The industry has been in decline for a decade, with the number of salt farmers plummeting from more than 1,000 across 12 Arakan State townships to just 50 or so today, according to the Arakan State Salt Department.