Amid growing concerns over an increased Tatmadaw presence in Arakan State, the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, a think-tank formed by ex-military officers, has suggested that there is little chance of fresh clashes erupting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA).  

To solve the annual summer water shortages affecting the town of Minbya, Arakan State, its Development Affairs Committee has arranged to supply water from Phalaung Pyin reservoir via a pumping station. 

Farmers have been told to repay their agricultural loans by April 15 this year, according to an official from the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank (MADB) in Arakan State. 

About 400 shelters were damaged by strong winds at three displacement camps in Chin State’s Paletwa Township on Sunday evening, according to camp managers.

A mother and two of her sons were killed, and another son was injured when an unexploded shell blew up in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township on Sunday. 

The Mon National Network and anti-authoritarian Mon youth forces on April 3 urged the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) to draw up an interim constitution as quickly as possible and to create a national unity government.  

The Peace Process Steering Team (PPST), formed by the 10 ethnic armed organisations that signed Myanmar’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, on Sunday called on the junta to stop killing unarmed civilians, and to immediately and unconditionally release all those unjustly detained under its rule. 

The Arakan State Administration Council is conducting field inspections at Sittwe’s Kandawgyi Lake, which supplies water for the Arakan State capital, in hopes of addressing its tendency to dry up during the summer months, according to U Hla Thein, the council’s information officer. 

Arakan State residents have called on the Tatmadaw to withdraw its troops from pagodas and temples during Myanmar’s New Year festival, Thingyan, so that Buddhists can freely practice religious activities at those sites. 

Myanmar’s military governing body, the State Administration Council, must be held accountable for killing more than 500 people nationwide as security forces have unleashed lethal crackdowns on anti-regime protesters since the February 1 coup, said Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) leader General Yawd Serk. 

The Karen National Union (KNU) has called on the international community to impose severe sanctions on the military in the wake of Tatmadaw airstrikes that killed several people and displaced thousands more in Karen State over recent days.  

People in Arakan State facing prosecution under the Counter-Terrorism Law for alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA) will still have to stand trial despite Myanmar’s military regime removing the ethnic armed group from its list of terrorist organisations, said a spokesman for the Arakan State Administration Council. 

The price of construction materials, which Arakan State mainly sources from Yangon and Mandalay, has increased by up to 15% compared with last year, according to construction materials shops. 

Minbya residents have called for effective measures to prevent the Lemro River from eroding away parts of the riverside town, as bits and pieces of land and property are carried downstream each year. 

A local court in Sittwe Township on Friday heard one out of two plaintiffs in a case involving four students who were arrested last year and charged with incitement and violating Myanmar’s Natural Disaster Management Law. 

Eight organisations representing Myanmar journalists have released a statement objecting to a Ministry of Information plan to issue press identity cards. 

A 65-year-old man died this week while standing trial on terrorism charges over his alleged involvement with the Arakan Army (AA), according to his defence lawyer. 

The price of clams in Manaung Township, Arakan State, has fallen compared with last year, according to sellers.

With the Rar Maung Bridge — spanning the river of the same name in Arakan State’s Minbya Township — inaccessible to heavy vehicles for years, a boat accident this week is straining alternative river-crossing methods, and snarling trade and transport in the region.