Six women from the Arakan National Party are scheduled to contest the upcoming 2020 general election, according to the candidate lineup unveiled by the ANP on August 2.

Mobile internet connectivity that had been cut off for more than a year in seven Arakan State townships and Paletwa Township, Chin State, was restored on August 1, according to residents of the affected townships.

At least seven civilians were killed and 17 were wounded in western Myanmar last month due to clashes between the military and the Arakan Army, according to reporting compiled by DMG.

The All Arakanese Solidarity Committee has suggested that Arakanese political parties approach the 2020 general election in a coordinated fashion in order to avoid a competition for votes that might be detrimental to Arakanese solidarity.

The Arakan League for Democracy does not have candidates to field for the upcoming general election in northern Arakan State townships where fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army is ongoing, said ALD Secretary U Myo Kyaw.

Two remnant weapons of war exploded in Katchaung village, Rathedaung Township, at about 4 p.m. on August 1, leaving two children dead and four other minors injured, according to the village administrator.

An Arakanese couple from Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, were found dead and presumed murdered inside their apartment in Ward-7 of Yangon’s South Okkalapa Township on July 31.

A crowd amassed in a Maungdaw Township ward on Friday as thousands of Muslims turned up to purchase cows for Eid al-Adha despite instructions from the Ministry of Health and Sports to avoid large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Arakanese businesspeople say commodity flows and trade have declined as the COVID-19 pandemic has brought an economic downturn in Arakan State much as it has nationwide and globally.

The body of a villager who was allegedly shot dead by the military weeks ago was discovered in a latrine on July 31 in the compound of his home in Chainkharli village, Rathedaung Township, said family members of the victim. 

The international pressure facing Myanmar is primarily related to conflicts in Arakan State, Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin acknowledged at an Amyotha Hluttaw session on July 30.  

The National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) has provided K50 million ($36,500) in financial aid to members of the Arakan Liberation Party and their families amid the COVID-19 crisis.

A landmine killed a villager outside Jade Chaung village, Ann Township, on July 29, and another landmine nearby killed a second man and injured a third the next day when they went to retrieve the body of the first, according to local residents.

The Myanmar Press Council (MPC) held talks this week with the Ministry of Information about the role of the news media, including the government’s blocking of certain news outlets’ websites. 

With fighting between the military and Arakan Army well into its second year, the number of people detained for alleged links to the ethnic armed group continues to rise, with critics arguing that due process and basic rights for the accused have been jettisoned in authorities’ zeal to nab supposed “terrorists” and their sympathisers. 

Traffic along a section of road between the town of Mrauk-U and Oakphawkan village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township came to a standstill when a gunfight erupted between the military and Arakan Army at around 5 a.m. on July 30, with hostilities lasting about 30 minutes, according to locals.

Two residents of Kyan Chaing village in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township were arrested over alleged connections to the Arakan Army, the Tatmadaw True News Information Team said on July 29.

Just over half of all basic education high schools in Arakan State have been unable to reopen to date, according to state education officials, while high schools elsewhere across Myanmar largely resumed classes on July 21.

Representatives from the Shwe Minn Tha Foundation (Myanmar) held a discussion with members of the Arakan State government cabinet about conducting mine risk education programmes in townships plagued by conflict in the state, according to an official from the foundation.