Economic, social and educational conditions have deteriorated since Myanmar’s military coup on February 1, 2021, and rural people in Arakan State have been hit particularly hard by rising commodity prices and a lack of job opportunities. 

Officials from Manaung Public Company (MPC) say Manaung Island’s beaches and the livelihoods of its residents will not be negatively impacted by the growth of the local tourism industry, as the development plans centre on ecotourism. 

Casualties were reported after a clash broke out between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) near Mee Taik village in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township at about 2 p.m. on Friday, according to U Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the ethnic armed group. 

More than 200 homes across three villages were destroyed in fighting between junta forces and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) troops last month in Kadai Kadut village, Kyaikto Township, Mon State, forcing many locals to leave their homes.

Businesspeople say shipments of goods from mainland Myanmar commercial hubs such as Yangon and Mandalay to Arakan State are allowed only with the permission of the Arakan State minister for Security and Border Affairs.

Arrangements are being made to systematically accept Muslims who fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in fear of the Myanmar military’s deadly and destructive 2016-17 regional clearance operations, according to U Hla Thein, a spokesperson for the Arakan State regime council. 

The sound of heavy weapons fire was heard southwest of Mingala Nyunt village in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, on Friday afternoon, residents said.

A Forest Department official says his department is understaffed and unarmed, a combination hampering efforts to track down timber smugglers across Arakan State. 

Rainwater degradation at the ancient Htoke Kan Thein Temple and a handful of pagodas in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U are currently undergoing repairs, according to the Sittwe branch of the Department of Archeology and National Museum. 

A local Development Affairs Committee staffer accused of joining the civil disobedience movement (CDM) and an alleged anti-regime activist were arrested by junta forces late on February 3 in Paungde town, Bago Region. 

A military delegation led by the junta’s Lt-Gen Yar Pyae, chairman of the National Solidarity and Peace Negotiation Committee (NSPNC), and political parties still willing to engage with the regime as part of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), are scheduled to meet later this month.

Patients seeking medical treatment and healthcare workers are facing difficulties due to a shortage of water in the wells and ponds near Poeshweepyin station hospital in Taw Phyar Chaung area, Ponnagyun Township, according to local healthcare personnel.

Junta forces reportedly arrested a female gold shop owner in Kyaikto Township, Mon State, on February 3 during an overnight guest list check. 

Of four men detained at the Kyein Chaung security checkpoint in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, three were released on Thursday evening and the fourth was held on remand, according to family members.

Junta forces and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) troops clashed between Bilin and Thaton towns in Mon State on Thursday afternoon.

A prosecution witness has yet to be examined in the case of Ko Sein Chit and Ko Ye Naing Oo from Thandwe town, Arakan State, who have been charged under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law. 

A fishing boat carrying six Bangladeshis was found stranded on a beach in Kyaukphyu’s Asoeya ward on Tuesday morning, with police detaining the men aboard.

Locals living in the vicinity of Zin Chaung Beach in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township are calling for maintenance works ahead of the upcoming rainy season as the coast faces annual landslides that threaten infrastructure, homes and other structures in the area.

Questioning has concluded for five people from Kyaukseik village and nearby in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, who have been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law on suspicion of illegal ties to the Arakan Army, according to a lawyer for the defendants.