As landmine casualties have increased with the restart of fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Arakan State, more and more cases are involving urban and peri-urban encounters.

Mortar shells fired by regime forces fell and exploded in Myauktaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday, killing a 4-year-old boy and injuring five other people.

Three civilians including a child were injured by a junta artillery strike in Kainggyi (Mro) Village in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township on December 31.

Farmers in Arakan State are only able to harvest about 50 percent of their paddy fields due to the latest fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA), according to the Arakan Farmers’ Union.

The Arakan Army (AA) reportedly launched attacks on two Border Guard Force (BGF) outposts near Kyaungnabay and Kainggyi villages in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, simultaneously at about 7 p.m. on January 1.

A junta artillery strike killed a civilian and injured six others in Mrauk-U’s Shwegutaung Ward at about 7:30 p.m. on January 1.

Civilian casualties and cattle deaths were reported due to the regime’s indiscriminate firings in four Arakan State townships from December 30 to 31, the Three Brotherhood Alliance said in a statement.

Junta troops and the Arakan Army (AA) are fighting fiercely for control of the Tinma tactical command base east of the Kaladan River in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township.

Junta troops and the Arakan Army (AA) clashed near Light Infantry Battalion No. 289 outside Paletwa town, Chin State, at around 10 a.m. on Monday.

A total of 221 Muslim refugees in Bangladesh who illegally crossed the border back into Arakan State were arrested in 2023, according to Rakhine Daily, a mouthpiece of the Arakan State military council.

Fearing an outbreak of fighting in Kyauktaw, Arakan State, many local residents are moving to safety, but internally displaced people (IDPs) are having difficulty doing so.

The Arakan Army (AA) has made seizing junta bases and military camps in urban parts of Arakan State a focus of its offensive operations in recent weeks, following the launch of “Operation 1027” in late October.

Three villagers have been killed and eight others were injured by junta artillery strikes in Warchilar (Muslim) Village, part of Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township, since late November.

Cash is running short in many Arakan State townships as Myanmar’s military regime has imposed draconian travel restrictions since renewed fighting broke out in mid-November.

More than 80 junta soldiers fled into India’s Mizoram state during an Arakan Army (AA) attack on the regime’s Point 377 outpost in Chin State’s Paletwa Township on Friday.

The Arakan Army (AA) seized a junta tactical command base in Paletwa Township, Chin State, and at Point 377, a military camp on the Myanmar-India border, the ethnic armed group said in a statement on December 29.

A family member said that he hanged himself due to insecurity and food shortages triggered by the latest hostilities between the military and Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State.

Myanmar’s military regime is accused of utilising an India-funded port, which is part of the US$500 million Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, in the Arakan State capital Sittwe for its own benefit rather than the benefit of local people.

Dozens of local people detained by Myanmar’s military regime in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, on December 26 and 28 have reportedly been fined and released.