The United Nations has expressed its concern over the mass displacement of civilians from two villages in Kyauktaw Township that went up in flames amid recent fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA). 

Three members of the Arakan Students’ Union who staged a protest in front of the Arakan State government offices in Sittwe were arrested on September 9.The arrestees have been identified as Ko Toe Toe Aung, chair of the Sittwe Students’ Union; Ko Kyaw Naing Htay, the information in-charge of the Arakan Students’ Union; and Ko Oo Than Naing, the information in-charge of Sittwe University of Computer Studies.   

Cargo trucks plying routes from the Arakan State capital Sittwe to lowland areas will have to temporarily halt operations as of September 9 due to COVID-19, according to highway express drivers. 

A murder case has been opened against the owner of a shrimp pond in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, after a police officer was found dead near its waters on September 7. 

At least four people including two children were killed and 10 others were injured when artillery shells allegedly fired by the military struck Nyaungkan village in Arakan State’s Myebon Township on September 8, according to locals.  

Candidates who have registered to contest the November 8 general election in Arakan State have criticised a Union Election Commission (UEC) decision to wait until sometime next month to announce any constituencies that will not hold the vote. 

Three people who recently tested positive for COVID-19 in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, have yet to check in at the township’s main hospital, said Dr. Than Tun Oo, superintendent of the hospital.  

The All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) issued a statement on September 6 denouncing Tatmadaw militancy in Arakan State amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Khumi Affairs Coordination Council (KACC) has called on the military and the Arakan Army to end their hostilities in Paletwa Township, Chin State, to allow for the holding of the 2020 general election there.

One of two missing border guard police from Thayet Oak outpost in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, was found dead on Monday morning.

More than 300,000 “grassroots” households in Arakan State will be provided with about K1.82 billion (US$1.37 million) amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with the financial assistance being the second round of its kind, according to the Arakan State government. 

The Union Election Commission (UEC) has set a 60-day campaign period for Myanmar’s upcoming general election, from 6 a.m. on September 8 to 12 midnight on November 6, as political aspirants gear up to win voters’ favour amid a global pandemic. 

The Arakan National Party (ANP) has sent an open letter to Myanmar’s leadership, calling for an immediate end to the military’s operational strategy in Arakan State, where civilian casualties continue to climb despite a COVID-19 outbreak prompting lockdowns in much of the region.  

Internally displaced people (IDPs) who in recent days fled from several villages along the Kaladan River in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, are in need of sustainable provisioning of food and other aid, according to people assisting them. 

Ten COVID-19 patients in Arakan State who had been receiving medical treatment at Sittwe General Hospital have recovered and were discharged from the hospital on September 5.

Government spokesperson U Zaw Htay has estimated that Myanmar’s 2020 general election will only be fully held in five of Arakan State’s 17 townships. 

More than 40 healthcare workers are among a total of 515 coronavirus cases reported in Arakan State as of the morning of September 5, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. 

With COVID-19 infections continuing to rise in Arakan State, almost 20,000 locals residing along the Kaladan River in Kyauktaw Township have recently left their homes for safer places due to ongoing armed conflict in the area. 

At least 166 homes in Phayarpaung and Taungpauk villages in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township were burned to the ground on September 3, according to village officials.