Myanmar's self-appointed acting president, Min Aung Hlaing, has described it as a matter of national pride that the 2024 Population and Housing Census was conducted domestically without foreign assistance.

Residents of several villages in northern Maungdaw Township, along the Arakan-Bangladesh border, are reportedly fleeing their homes due to security concerns over threats posed by the Muslim armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).

In an era when daily news from Arakan is often fragmented and fast-changing, DMG's Weekly Highlights of Arakan brings clarity, depth, and context to the stories that matter most.

Fierce clashes have erupted in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, as the military junta launched coordinated attacks using ground, air, and naval forces. This pressure has forced the Arakan Army (AA) to withdraw from some positions they previously controlled.

The Maungdaw District Muslim Affairs Council issued a statement on 25 October condemning the arrests, torture, and killings of local residents in Maungdaw District, Arakan State, by the Muslim armed groups Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), which threaten peace, stability, and the rule of law in the region.

Gold prices have reached nearly K9 million per tical for 24K gold in townships controlled by the Arakan Army in Arakan State, according to gold shop owners.

Myanmar’s military junta is pressing simultaneous offensives on Namtu and Mantong in northern Shan State, both controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), according to military sources.

In Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State—where armed conflict remains intense—the junta’s district administration is staging a football tournament featuring teams from the military, police, and government departments, in what locals say is an attempt to project an image of urban “stability.”

The Arakan Army (AA) has launched clearance operations against members of the Muslim armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) who have infiltrated Maungdaw District, carried out ambushes, abductions, and killings of civilians, and then fled, according to local residents.

Myanmar’s military regime, which is ramping up its aerial attacks across the country, is conducting daily airstrikes using a variety of attack vehicles on both military targets and civilian areas.
 

In Kyaukphyu, a junta-controlled town in Arakan State, prices of basic commodities have surged, and a ban on transporting goods by sea has left residents facing mounting hardships, locals say.

In southern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, three residents - including a woman - from Kin Chaung Village were abducted by members of the Muslim armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), according to local sources.

Myanmar’s military regime has invited the Chinese government to work on new projects to expand oil and gas production in Myanmar, the junta-controlled Myanma Alinn daily reported on October 23.
 

From May through October 23, 2025, a total of 57 civilians in northern Arakan — 40 killed and 17 injured — have been victims of ambushes and killings carried out by the Muslim ared group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in Buthidaung and Maungdaw, according to figures compiled by DMG.

There are reportedly seven candidates running for the position of Rakhine Ethnic Affairs Minister of Yangon Region in the election to be held on December 28.
 

Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, has strongly condemned the human rights violations committed by Myanmar’s military regime against its people across the country.
 

Two women were killed and a male driver wounded when a passenger van traveling the Mayu mountain road between Kyauk Pandu (Maungdaw Township) and Zedee Pyin (Rathedaung Township) came under fire from the Muslim armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), according to local residents.

A civilian was killed and another injured when members of the Muslim armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) carried out a close-range ambush on the Kyein Chaung–Taung Pyo Letwae road in northern Maungdaw Township, according to local sources.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) and aid workers say IDPs in Arakan State are in dire need of warm clothes and blankets to protect themselves from the cold weather of the coming winter.