Fierce clashes between the military and AA were reported near Shwehlay, Kwaychaung and Hsuepotegon villages yesterday, with the military firing mortar shells into the scenes of fighting, according to local residents.

The junta attacked positions near Sanae market and the bus station with drones at least six times from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 9, a local man said.

Many displaced people in Arakan State have reported diarrhoea resulting from drinking unclean water. Coupled with serious shortages of medicines due to junta blockades and fighting, some cases have been fatal.

Myanmar’s military regime is planning to open basic education schools in Arakan State when the new academic year starts in June, according to education staff.

Among the internet blackouts, Sagaing Region tallied the most townships at 27, and Arakan State had the second most with 17 townships.

Junta soldiers from the Myo Thu Gyi Village-based No. 5 Border Guard Force headquarters and Muslim militiamen set fire to homes in Shweyinaye Village, said an eyewitness from Kanthayar Village.

The regime is heavily reinforcing its bases in Maungdaw Town amid Arakkha Army (AA) attacks targeting the frontier town on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

A civilian was reportedly killed after a mortar shell fired by a Myanmar Navy vessel landed and exploded on Gantgar Island in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, on Wednesday afternoon.

Fighting broke out between junta troops and the Arakkha Army (AA) on April 13 near Yay Sin Village in Thandwe. Clashes have since intensified, spreading across northern Thandwe.

Arakkha Army (AA) spokesman U Khaing Thukha said the military regime and Muslim terrorist groups are deceiving and recruiting young Muslim people, especially minors, for their own interests.

Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing held talks via video conferencing with former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen on Monday. Min Aung Hlaing talked about voting, junta media reported.

An elderly woman in her 60s was injured and two homes were damaged after junta troops fired six mortar shells into Thonesel Village, Nawnghkio Township, on April 27 and 28, the statement added.

Having lost several battalions, a military headquarters and police outposts in Maungdaw Township due to offensive attacks launched by the Arakkha Army (AA), Myanmar’s military regime has blown up three bridges in three days.

A junta drone attack on a bazaar in Sanae Town, part of Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township, killed a local woman and wounded three others on Wednesday morning.

Landmine blasts killed two people and injured 10 civilians in Kyaukphyu Township from January to May 8 of this year, according to a DMG tally.

Fighting broke out as the AA launched an attack on junta soldiers stationed in the Kanyinchaung Economic Zone, who fled to Bangladesh but were later repatriated, said a local source.

“They attempted to exaggerate racial tensions and some frictions between those groups,” said the report from BACS, an unabashedly anti-regime research and advocacy organisation.

The military regime, which has faced defeat after military defeat in Arakan State to the Arakkha Army, is targeting towns and villages, causing civilian casualties to rise steadily in recent months.

The regime blew up a bridge east of Buthidaung Town on Monday in a bid to prevent Arakkha Army (AA) troops from advancing on the town.