As one of several towns in Arakan State that see an influx of migrant workers returning to their hometowns and villages this time of year, residents of Manaung are flagging the possibility that some could be bringing the coronavirus home with them.

More than 100 locals from Dar Lat (West) village in Ann Township, Arakan State, have fled to Ann town after hearing the sound of heavy and small weapons fire coming from the mountains near their village.

The Myanmar government will step up relief aid provisioning for people displaced by conflict (IDPs) between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released on March 20.

The Sittwe District Court on March 20 sentenced Ko Than Hla, aka Ko Min Bar Chay, to 15 days in prison after he and others staged demonstrations last year calling for justice in the killing of civilians in Arakan State.

An explosion injured a village administrator and two security personnel at a jetty along the Laymyo River at Pan Myaung village, in Arakan State’s Minbya Township, on the morning of March 20, with one local resident describing the blast as a mine detonation.

Some children taking shelter at camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Rathedaung Township are suffering from fever amid cramped living quarters and as seasonal temperatures move toward their hottest annual averages, according to IDPs.

Camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the town of Rathedaung are in need of firewood for cooking, as well as food supplies, IDPs say.

The Chin National Front (CNF) has asked the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army to immediately cease hostilities in Chin State, and is demanding the pullout of the Arakanese ethnic armed group from Chin State’s Paletwa Township, which borders conflict-plagued Arakan State. 

The body of one of 10 male detainees held incommunicado by the Tatmadaw for several days was found floating in waters near the Kyauktaw Township village from which they were taken, the dead man’s younger sister told DMG.

Five civilians were injured by artillery fire near the Kispanadi Bridge in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, on the morning of March 20, according to residents.

A woman was killed and a boy injured when gunfire riddled a tent set up for an ordination ceremony in Ponnagyun Township’s Latmasait village on March 18, according to relatives of the deceased.

The IDPs have come to the Arakan State capital from war-affected parts of Ann, Myebon, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Buthidaung townships. Here they live in tents roofed with tarpaulin. Mothers with infants are afforded the relative luxury of a space under the monastery building.

A wildfire broke out on the afternoon of March 18 along a mountain range near Peepinyin village in Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, with the flames spreading to a residential area and destroying seven homes, residents said.

Plans to mitigate the risk of coronavirus contagion have been arranged for more than 4,000 students who are currently sitting exams at Sittwe University, according to university officials.

Two ethnic Mro women from Baung village in northern Maungdaw Township have been missing for nearly a week, village official Ko Aung Naing said.

Temporary housing materials and healthcare are needed for more than 2,200 internally displaced people (IDPs) who fled their home villages in Chin State’s Paletwa Township and have sought refuge in Samee town, said Chin State’s Amyotha Hluttaw MP Salai Than Htike.

The Rakhine Ethnics Congress (REC) on March 18 demanded the immediate end to a months-long internet blackout in parts of Arakan and Chin states, in order to give residents timely access to information on the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chin National League for Democracy has urged the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) to sign a ceasefire agreement as soon as possible, days after reports that more than 20 people were killed and more were injured when military fighter jets allegedly strafed a handful of villages in Chin State.

The Arakan American Community (AAC) is calling on the UN to declare a no-fly zone prohibiting military aircraft from taking to the skies above northern Arakan State, where the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army have fought fiercely for months.