The Arakan Army (AA) on Thursday issued a statement advising civilians in Arakan State to refrain from using military aircraft, vehicles, and vessels when travelling in conflict zones.

The Khumi Affairs Coordination Council (KACC) released a statement on February 19 saying clashes between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army have significantly hampered communications and transportation for residents of Chin State’s Paletwa Township.

More than 90% of seats at a vocational training school in the Arakan State capital have gone unfilled for the current enrollment period as conflict in the state continues to show its wide-reaching effects.

Arakan Army spokesperson Khaing Thukha said its troops attacked a Tatmadaw convoy on Thursday morning near Kyauk Sauk village in Ramree Township, in an unusual case of hostilities between the two sides flaring south of the heart of the conflict in northern Arakan State.

The 72^nd Chin National Day was celebrated at U Ottama Hall in Sittwe on February 20 but attendance was down compared with previous years, with event organizers blaming the increasingly unstable situation in the region for 2020’s lower headcount.

Arakan Army spokesperson Khaing Thukha told DMG that its forces were responsible for small arms fire that was trained on a Tatmadaw helicopter carrying Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu and Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye earlier this week.

Nearly 800 people recently displaced from their homes and seeking refuge in Buthidaung town have arrived to find the IDP camps there ill-prepared to accommodate the influx and in dire need of more relief aid, camp manager Ko Tun Myat Win said.

More than 200 people attempting to return to Paletwa Township in Chin State are stranded in Kyauktaw town, Arakan State, due to fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army near the Kaladan River, residents said.

With fighting flaring between Set Khaw and Manaung villages in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, on Wednesday evening, inhabitants of the two settlements have fled for the relative safety of nearby villages, according to local residents.

A helicopter carrying Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu and Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Win Myat Aye was targeted by machine gun fire in Rathedaung Township on Wednesday morning, a military officer who asked for anonymity told DMG.

Four artillery shells launched from Mt. Taung Shay, east of the village, at about 2 p.m. on Monday exploded in the village. The blasts forced villagers from their homes and to nearby villages, said U Thaw Bi Ta, the abbot of the local monastery.

Three student unions have demanded the formation of an independent, international investigative commission to uncover who was responsible for civilian deaths during months of fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State.

A man from Tinma village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township was hit and injured by a stray artillery shell at about 1 p.m. on February 18, locals said.

At least 11 infants are suffering from diarrhea at the Taung Min Kala IDP camp in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, due to a scarcity of water and resultant sanitation woes, according to camp inhabitants.

The munitions (UXO) landed in the village during fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army that broke out on February 14, when a house burned to the ground, said a villager who did not want to be named.

A 65-year-old Muslim man from Sin Thay Pyin village in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township died after stepping on a landmine in the early hours of February 18, according to family members.

Landmine risk education is to be provided in six Arakan State townships where the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army have continued to clash in recent months, according to the Rakhine Ethnics Congress, which will implement the program.

Arakan State Hluttaw Speaker U San Kyaw Hla has urged the government to do better in assisting internally displaced people (IDPs), including by welcoming international humanitarian groups previously barred from operating in conflict-affected parts of the state.

Thousands of jellyfish were found dead along Nadi Thaungyan Beach in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township on the morning of February 17, locals said.