One social activist from Arakan State said: “Only Gwa and Manaung are under the full control of the military council in Arakan State. How can it conduct a population census?”

"In recent months, the Myanmar military junta's war of terror against Myanmar people and its fighting with the Arakan Army (AA) have resulted in horrendous human rights violations and international crimes in Rakhine [Arakan] State," said the open letter.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has suspended its humanitarian operations in the Arakan State townships of Rathedaung, Buthidaung and Maungdaw, the organisation said in a statement on June 27.

The military regime’s sentence of five years’ imprisonment for the two DMG employees not only suppresses the media, but also infringes on freedom of the press, the right of journalists to be safe and secure, and the right of the people to know the truth.

Hundreds of villagers were detained when junta troops raided Byaing Phyu Village, Sittwe Township, in late May. Relatives say they still cannot contact more than 150 detainees and have expressed concerns for their safety.

According to the WFP, 11,75 metric tonnes of emergency food supplies, enough to feed 64,000 people for one month, were stored at the warehouse.

About 60 junta soldiers in four military trucks entered Amyint Kyun Village, gathered the locals in the middle of the village and arrested 46 men whose ages ranged from 18 to more than 40 years old.

India has sought “credible security protection for India-funded ongoing projects in Myanmar,” said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

More junta troops have been deployed at the checkpoints on the border of Gwa Township and Ayeyarwady Region, on the Gwa-Ngathainggyaung road, and in Ngathainggyaung Town, Ayeyarwady Region.

Unimpressed residents said the cargo that arrived on Tuesday was not intended for them, but rather for junta battalions defending against the threat of an Arakkha Army (AA) attack on the Arakan State capital. 

“The town was virtually deserted until recently. But there have been many people at markets and on the streets lately,” said a Kyaukphyu resident.

The TNLA said renewed fighting broke out in Kyaukme and Nawnghkio townships and Mogok Township early Tuesday morning, marking a restart of the anti-regime “Operation 1027”.

Fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) is fierce as the ethnic armed group has launched an offensive against the military’s two Thandwe-based battalions simultaneously.

Regime troops are now deployed in 14 villages including Byaing Phyu, where the regime massacred nearly 80 people in late May, bordering Rathedaung and Ponnagyun townships. 

The Central Young Lai Association (CYLA) has blockaded the trade route used to import goods from Lawngtlai in India’s Mizoram to Arakan State through Chin State’s Paletwa Township as of Monday.

Military tensions had been running high in the area for weeks as the regime was accused of violating the ceasefire and shelling TNLA bases, killing some of the ethnic armed group's troops.

Sittwe, Maungdaw, Kyaukphyu, Ann, Taungup, Thandwe, Gwa and Manaung towns remain under the control of the regime, though fighting is taking place in many parts of their eponymous townships.

Junta soldiers have been stationed at Taungup University and set up security outposts around two furlongs from their camp.

Myanmar has a population of more than 51 million people, according to the 2014 national population census, with 42 million representing more than three-quarters of that total.