Two mortar shells fired by the military’s Shwe Min Gan naval base in Sittwe fell and exploded in the Zedipyin IDP camp at around 7 a.m. on May 21.

“The fighting is fierce as the AA is attacking those positions. Junta jets are bombing every day. Over 100 troops from those two outposts have fled,” said a source.

Myanmar’s military regime has blockaded the main coastal route used by Thandwe Township residents to flee ongoing fighting and receive healthcare services in Thandwe Town as of Monday.

At least 6,000 homes in Buthidaung were destroyed by junta soldiers and military-trained Muslim conscripts, regime airstrikes and shellings during the battle for control of Buthidaung.

An elderly man was injured in a junta drone attack in Sanae town, part of Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township, on Monday evening, according to local residents.

At least 10 civilian casualties were reported in junta airstrikes on two villages in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township on Tuesday morning, according to local people.

The United League of Arakan/Arakkha Army (ULA/AA) has accused Myanmar’s military regime and its allied Muslim armed organisations of inciting racial and religious hatred in Arakan State.

Local farmers in Arakan State are struggling to grow monsoon paddy as junta blockades have pushed prices up and made it difficult to buy fertiliser, fuel and other agricultural inputs.

Junta troops are looting the homes of Thandwe residents who have fled fighting there over the past month, according to residents.

The statement added that if international organisations are trapped in the war zone, they can ask for help from the United League of Arakan/Arakkha Army (ULA/AA) at any time.

After capturing Buthidaung, where the majority of the population is Muslim, AA chief Major-General Twan Mrat Naing wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the AA would protect all people, regardless of race or religion, in Arakan State.

A junta artillery strike on Khamaungtone Village, part of Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, killed one child and injured three other people including two children on Monday.

The Arakkha Army (AA) is ramping up an offensive on Myanmar military positions in an effort to take control of Maungdaw Township following the ethnic armed group’s seizure of Buthidaung Town last week.

It has been more than one month since the military clashed with the Arakkha Army (AA) in Thandwe Township, southern Arakan State, and fierce fighting between the two sides is ongoing. 

Fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) is reportedly intensifying in the Kazukaing area of Ann Township after the ethnic armed group seized Buthidaung Town on May 18.

An ongoing heat wave is taking a toll on the health of displaced children and elderly persons at displacement camps in Arakan State, with many reported cases of fever, headache and vomiting.

The Arakkha Army (AA) has seized Buthidaung Town — the 10 town it has captured in Arakan and Chin states since launching an offensive against Myanmar’s military regime in November.

Muslim IDPs from several displacement camps in Sittwe Township are going hungry due to rising commodity prices caused by junta blockades of roads and waterways, said camp managers.

Local people in the Arakan State capital Sittwe are worried about the danger of landmines as junta soldiers have planted landmines around the city and at entry and exit security checkpoints.