Arakan youths living in Yangon say difficulties with acquiring citizenship ID cards are hampering their dreams of studying abroad.

Myanmar’s military regime has been desperately defending its Western Command headquarters after the Arakkha Army (AA) defeated all other junta positions in Arakan State’s Ann Township, according to sources close to the AA.

A young man from Panphechaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, was killed in a landmine blast on Friday, according to local residents.

The displaced civilians are from Ponnagyun, Sittwe and Rathedaung townships, and the skin disease that has been spreading since early 2024 has not yet been brought under control.

Around 50,000 residents have been forced from their homes in Ann, Taungup and Gwa townships, and around 10,000 of them are struggling with cold weather and food shortages in the forests.

Tuberculosis (TB) cases have surged in Arakan State as the junta’s travel restrictions continue to take a toll on the public healthcare system in the western Myanmar state, according to local health workers.

Junta soldiers from Ann Town, which hosts the Myanmar military's Western Command headquarters, continue to surrender or flee amid an offensive by the Arakkha Army (AA).

Myanmar's military regime has reportedly sentenced Ko Gambari aka Khin Win Maung, a former youth leader of the Arakan National Party (ANP) facing terrorism charges, to 12 years in prison.

A group of about 10 ARSA members entered Hsin Swel Ya Village at around 10 p.m. on December 4, firing guns and beheading 16-year-old Ma Khin Win with a knife.

As the Arakkha Army (AA) offensive moves closer to Gwa Town, the regime is heavily reinforcing its weapons, manpower, and supplies in the southern Arakan State town.

Cases of malaria have been reported in more than 20 villages including Khway Chay Myaung, Panmyaung, Hteinpin, Ahnyintaung, Paletaung, Minphu, Wahtaung and Myin Kan Seik.

The ISP-Myanmar report states that in addressing the current crisis, women are increasingly frugal in preference to other family members, resulting in concerns about nutritional balance and health.

The AA has been attacking the Western Command headquarters since seizing control of Ann Town on Monday.

Sittwe Public Hospital in the Arakan State capital, which is still controlled by the military regime, has run out of TB and HIV medicines due to junta restrictions on the supply of pharmaceuticals to the western Myanmar state.

Two junta jet fighters carried out an aerial bombardment of Taungup's Myoma Market on December 3, burning more than 50 stalls to the ground.

A man from Aungzeya Village, part of Arakan State's Maungdaw Township, was shot dead by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Wednesday evening, according to local residents.

The Arakkha Army (AA) issued a statement on December 3 saying property that was stolen before the battle for control of Buthidaung began, during the fighting in downtown Buthidaung, and after the seizure of the town has been returned to the rightful owners from various ethnic groups.

There were 23 clashes in Arakan State between Myanmar's military regime and the Arakkha Army (AA) in the two weeks from November 6 to 19, according to a report released by Burma News International (BNI).

An illegal Arakanese migrant worker has been hospitalised for more than a month after he was badly injured in a motorbike accident in Malaysia’s Penang.