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.

Civilians displaced by the fighting in Arakan State are returning to their homes in areas controlled by the Arakkha Army (AA), but many are struggling to get back on their feet.

Family members have expressed concerns about the wellbeing of Muslims conscripted by Myanmar’s military regime in Arakan State as they cannot contact them.

The Arakkha Army (AA) seized all junta bases and military camps in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, on the night of May 17, according to reliable sources.

The number of people displaced by the junta’s targeted artillery attacks and airstrikes on residential areas has risen to nearly 20,000 in Araka State’s Thandwe Township, according to local people.

Twenty-six civilians were killed and 50 others were injured by junta shellings and airstrikes in Arakan State in the two weeks from May 1-15, according to a DMG tally.

A teenager was killed and two others were injured after they stepped on a landmine planted by the Myanmar military near a school in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township on Wednesday.

Political analysts believe the fighting in Arakan State will be on the agenda for the fifth round of China-brokered talks.