Four civilians from Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, sustained bullet wounds on May 30 at about 8 p.m., residents said. 

For many villagers in Arakan State, there’s never been a more dangerous time to earn a living. Those who harvest wood or bamboo, forage for vegetables, engage in hillside cultivation, or otherwise rely on the lands surrounding their villages for livelihood take a risk every time they venture out as landmine encounters evidence increasing militarisation of the region.

A woman from Meeletwa (lower) village in Chin State’s Paletwa Township died of a bullet wound to the abdomen on May 30, according to residents.

The Arakan Army said it had released three family members of Border Guard Force personnel who were abducted after an attack on the Thazin Myaing BGF police outpost in Rathedaung Township, as well as a health worker who was detained previously. 

Many farmers from conflict-wracked northern Arakan State are unable to repay agricultural loans disbursed for the 2019 monsoon paddy growing season, said U Aye Thein, manager of the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank’s Arakan State branch.

The Arakan Army attacked the Thazin Myaing Border Guard Force outpost in Rathedaung Township in the early hours of May 29 and an exchange of fire ensued, residents said.

A resident of Shwe Kyan village in Minbya Township was seriously injured when he stepped on a landmine while heading to a hill to cut bamboo on May 28, family members said. 

A married couple facing charges under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law over a deadly explosion they were implicated in near U Daung village in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, have been released by the Maungdaw Township Court.

One person was killed and two others were injured when a banyan tree near Ann Airport fell down in strong winds on the morning of May 28, according to the Arakan State Fire Services Department.

A resident of Thaung Pyin village in Arakan State’s Myebon Township died after stepping on a landmine on May 28, family members said.

A man from Nga Pukwa village in Minbya Township, Arakan State, was severely injured by gunfire on May 27, villagers told DMG.

Family members want authorities to investigate the deaths of five people whose bodies were found in shallow graves last month in Arakan State’s Minbya Township.

With dozens of houses burned down at Meeletwa (lower) village in Chin State’s Paletwa Township this week, former residents say they will now struggle to return home even as pressure mounts for some to vacate the schools that they have been displaced to.

Fish and prawn traders are having difficulties sending their goods from Arakan State to Yangon due to COVID-19, said Daw Khin Khin Kyi, assistant head of the Department of Fisheries in Kyaukphyu district.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) who are sheltering at government school buildings in Arakan State must relocate by June 15, IDP camp managers and MPs have said.

The Arakan State government plans to provide cultivation assistance for farmers in conflict-affected parts of the state who face difficulties getting their crops planted in time for the monsoon growing season, said U Kyaw Lwin, state minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Mining.

The government has no plans this fiscal year to make the upgrades needed in order for international flights to land at Thandwe Airport in southern Arakan State, the gateway to Ngapali Beach.

Two men detained by a Tatmadaw column in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township on May 24 were released the following evening after a lengthy interrogation in the mountains outside their village. 

A resident of Daung Taw Yoe village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, has gone missing after leaving home to gather vegetables at a nearby cemetery on May 23, family members said.