Some 4,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering at IDP camps in some Arakan State townships have reportedly returned to their homes this month to harvest monsoon paddy as fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) has eased. 

A monk who had tested positive for COVID-19 and was receiving treatment at Kyaukphyu District Hospital in Arakan State passed away on November 19 and his monastery has been subject to quarantine measures, according to the administrator of Kyaukphyu Township.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) on Wednesday reiterated calls for the release of three of the party’s candidates who were abducted by the Arakan Army (AA) during election campaigning last month. 

The military has reportedly taken back into its custody a resident of Kalapon village in Ramree Township, after opening a case against him under the Counter-Terrorism Law for alleged links to the Arakan Army, his family members said. 

Amid the growing popularity of a 3-acre stretch of coral reef along the Arakan State coast in Manaung Township, several guesthouses are under construction to accommodate visitors. 

An annual pagoda festival in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township will not be held this year due to instability in the region and the coronavirus pandemic, according to the board of trustees for the Bae Ngar Yar (500 Ducks) Pagoda. 

The Arakan State government stands ready to assist migrant workers and others in Yangon who are struggling to return to Arakan State during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a state government spokesman, who added that no one had sought help so far. 

Family members are worried about two residents of Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, who are believed to have been detained by the Tatmadaw for months without information being made available as to their whereabouts or status. 

Members of the outgoing Arakan State Parliament have urged the state government to expeditiously implement the proposals and questions submitted to the legislature in the long-term interest of the state and its people. 

Blankets and warm clothes are needed this cold season for people internally displaced (IDPs) by fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army in Arakan State.

Local residents of Arakan State stuck in Yangon due to coronavirus travel restrictions are finding it difficult to return home, as authorities at the commercial capital’s Aungmingalar bus terminal have not allowed them to leave, according to a philanthropic group based in Kyaukphyu Township. 

More than 400 villagers who had been taking refuge at monasteries in Ramree town, Arakan State, reportedly returned to their homes on November 16.

Two residents of Sanae town in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township have been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army, with the duo sent to Kyaukphyu Prison on November 16, according to family members.

A civilian vehicle returning from a Kathina robe offering ceremony in Thayargon village, Maungdaw Township, encountered a landmine on November 17, killing three people and injuring six others.

State schools look increasingly unlikely to reopen in the 2020-2021 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than two years after a member of the Arakan State Parliament was sued over a critical Facebook post, the MP has decided to face the charge brought against him under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law. 

Residents of northern Arakan State’s Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships have gone nearly a month without electricity, making daily life difficult and driving up the prices of alternative energy sources like charcoal.  

Civilian casualties of the conflict in Arakan State and their families have received financial support from the government, according to the state’s Security and Border Affairs minister, Col. Min Thant, who told lawmakers that logistical support was also offered to those in need of hospitalisation.  

The Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) first need a ceasefire to jumpstart the peace process in conflict-plagued Arakan State, according to the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP).