People are cooperating in an ongoing effort to place food boxes for those who are hungry, the poor and others in need at wards in Kyaukphyu town, Arakan State. 

Locals say the Wunbaik mangrove forest reserve (WRMF) in Ramree Township, Arakan State, Asia’s second-largest mangrove forest, is being cut down for firewood, adding that the mangroves need further protection efforts.

There was only one case of human trafficking reported in Arakan State last year, according to the No. 5 Anti-Trafficking Task Force (Sittwe).

Covid-19 vaccines to be delivered by Myanmar’s military regime will be provided for the people as a matter of priority, a spokesperson for the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) told DMG on September 21.

Construction work on the Tawkan-Warbo bridge in Sittwe Township, Arakan State, started in 2019, but funding has not yet been allocated to complete the bridge, according to the Department of Rural Road Development.

With no clashes between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army for some 11 months, tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned home, but many are finding it difficult to make ends meet.  

Additional Covid-19 vaccines will arrive at Arakan State for more than 130,000 people, said officials of the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH). 

The cost of bricks, sand and stones in Arakan State has risen due to rising fuel prices, according to industry stakeholders.

Thirty-three internally displaced people (IDPs) from Taung Min Kala IDP camp in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, are ill and have lost their sense of smell, raising concerns about a potential coronavirus infection cluster despite the 33 having been recently vaccinated.

Twenty-six locals in the Arakan State capital Sittwe were arrested and faced legal sanction on September 19 for not following Covid-19 rules, according to the Arakan State Administration Council (ASAC). 

U Thaung Htut, marine conservation manager for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS Myanmar), said the establishment of marine protected areas in Arakan State has been delayed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and political upheaval in the country. 

Dr. Tun Tun Thein, deputy director of the Arakan State Education Office, said reports about the reopening of basic education schools on October 1 were untrue, and that instructions had not yet been issued to reopen the schools. 

All lines of the Shwe Pyi Tan express boat service that were suspended due to the third wave of Covid-19 are set to resume from September 20, but boat fares will increase 20% compared with previous prices, according to the manager of the boat service. 

Farmers in Arakan State say the soaring price of fertiliser means some are opting to forgo or scale back use of it on their crops this season. 

Family members of nine detainees in Arakan State’s Taungup Township, who were arrested by the Myanmar military on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) and charged under the country’s Counter-Terrorism Law, have demanded an immediate investigation into the case. 

The Arakan National Party’s Youth Wing has denounced a court verdict of two years and six months’ imprisonment for four students over an October 2020 protest against the previous government and military, with the wing saying they stand with those suffering casualties and displacement during armed conflict in Arakan State. 

With collaboration between the Dr. Saw Mya Aung Foundation and YUNAN AID, the Tharliswa free clinic was launched in Minbya town, Arakan State, on September 16.

Former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker U Min Aung and fellow party member Ko Thant Zin Phyo were sentenced to two years and two months in prison by a Taungup Township court on September 17 for protesting against the military coup, according to their lawyers. 

The military council has released some of those arrested and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law in Arakan State, but more than 160 people are still being detained, according to data compiled by local civil society organisations.