The RCSS issued its lament in an announcement accompanying the Shan ethnic armed group’s biannual meeting on Monday at its headquarters in Loi Tai Leng, southern Shan State.

The KyweO Bridge near Thandwe Town collapsed when a group of IDPs from Jeittaw Ward crossed the bridge amid heavy fighting on the morning of July 27, according to a resident of Thandwe. 

A landslide occurred at a section of the Gwa-Ngathainggyaung road connecting Arakan State and Ayeyarwady Region due to incessant heavy rains in recent days.

More than 100 conscripts who recently completed their training have been assigned to security checkpoints, battalions and night patrols, sources told DMG.

Hospitals and clinics in Buthidaung are closed and pharmacies have been looted, causing shortages of medicines and attendant health problems, residents said.

Landslides are an active concern during the rainy season due to the construction of roads through the mountains of Arakan State, and the weather of late is adding to the risks.

Myanmar’s military regime blew up a bridge near Kyeintali Town, which links Thandwe and Gwa townships, on Wednesday in an apparent bid to prevent Arakkha Army (AA) troops from advancing on the town.

Frontline troops of the MNDAA declared the liberation of Lashio, the capital city of northern Shan State, on the morning of July 25.

“The grassroots are worried about the risk of landmines when they go to their farmlands and the forests, but they have no choice,” said a local woman in Minbya.

Heavy rains have triggered flooding in Arakan State’s Taungup, Thandwe and Gwa townships, according to residents.

Residents speculated that the bodies were civilians killed by the regime in neighbouring Thandwe Township, where many displaced or detained civilians remain unaccounted for amid more than three months of military-AA conflict.

Some residents have fled Gwa Township in Arakan State to Ayeyarwady and Yangon regions following increased military activities in the township.

“Children and elderly people are particularly affected. We are concerned for our health as medicines are not available,” said a displaced woman. 

Sagaing Region was hit hardest as 67,598 houses were burnt there, followed by Magwe and Mandalay regions and Arakan and Chin states, where a combined 22,729 houses were torched. 

The regime has planted numerous landmines near Kyeintali Town. Junta soldiers issued a warning on June 30, telling residents not to go to certain places where they had planted landmines. 

Local people have accused the Myanmar junta and military-trained armed Muslim men of killing some residents who were trapped by fighting in downtown Maungdaw, Arakan State.

The regime set up five military outposts along Mt. Mel, between Kyeinchaung and Khamaungdaw villages, to defend its Western Command headquarters against the AA onslaught, according to a military source.

The military is frequently firing heavy weapons into the villages bordering Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships, causing panic among residents.

Through local ward and village administrators, the regime has barred residents from going out to sea and fishing, with no indication of when the ban might be lifted.