Transnational commerce at a border trade camp in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, was suspended for a second time on July 3 as COVID-19 concerns were raised anew, according to the Maungdaw District General Administration Department.

About 30 houses in Rathedaung Township’s Shay Yar Taw village were burgled last week while their owners were away, having fled violence in the area, according to residents.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Myanmar has signed an agreement with the Arakan State government to carry out several development projects in the state, with infrastructure initiatives to be implemented beginning on October 1.

A 67-year-old man was shot dead last week by the Tatmadaw in Kyaukphyu Township, with the military accusing him of being a member of the Arakan Army (AA), according to his family.

An elderly man from Tan Byint Gyi village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township was allegedly injured by gunfire from Tatmadaw troops and three men were detained by the military on July 3, locals said.

The Maungdaw Township Court has sentenced 11 Muslims charged with entering Arakan State illegally from Bangladesh to six months in prison under Section 13(1) of the Immigration Act.

Three out of five men arrested by the Tatmadaw last month in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, are yet to be released despite the military saying last week that it would free them, according to the detainees’ family members.

With nine confirmed COVID-19 cases in Arakan State’s Maungdaw District, thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the district are increasingly concerned about transmission of the virus.

Three COVID-19 patients who were receiving medical treatment at Maungdaw District Hospital have recovered and were allowed to be discharged from the hospital, but they remain under quarantine, according to the Health Department in Arakan State.

Two camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) built by the local government in Ann town, Arakan State, are in urgent need of food supplies following the arrival of more IDPs, according to officials at the camps.

A 2-year-old girl who was injured last week when an artillery shell landed and exploded in Nat Maw village, Ann Township, was admitted to Sittwe Hospital for treatment on Thursday afternoon.

The Union Election Commission (UEC) on Wednesday announced that Myanmar’s 2020 general election will take place on November 8.

The families of two people from Shwepyi village in Kyauktaw Township who died in military custody are pushing back against news coverage of their deaths that posited that they succumbed to illness while detained. 

Two brothers from Phar Pyo village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township are believed to have been detained by a local military contingent and have not been heard from in more than four months, family members said.

The Democracy and Human Rights Party has called on the Union Election Commission (UEC) to enable Muslims in northern Arakan State to cast their votes in Myanmar’s upcoming general election.

Women who have sought refuge in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, amid conflict elsewhere in the region, are facing livelihood difficulties and say they want more opportunities to work and generate income for their families.

Twenty-nine people who are alleged to have illegally crossed the Bangladesh-Myanmar border into Arakan State’s Maungdaw District are facing legal action under the Immigration Law, according to U Htein Linn, deputy director of the Department of Immigration and Population.

Four people including the chairperson of the Taungup Township Development Affairs Committee and the vice chair of the township’s Arakan National Party (ANP) chapter were arraigned under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law on June 30.

Four people were killed on Monday in a landmine explosion near Tayaba village in conflict-plagued Arakan State’s Taungup Township.