Some 200 residents attempted to flee Sittwe by boat on April 20 for fear that fighting may soon break out between the regime and Arakkha Army (AA) in the town. They were shot at and stopped by junta troops deployed on Kantkaw Island.

The ban was made as of the second week of April in response to the food requirements of refugees who have fled fighting in Myanmar, according to Paletwa residents.

It has been over one month since the Arakkha Army (AA) clashed with the military in Arakan State’s Ann Township, where the military’s Western Command headquarters is located, on March 24.

The number of people displaced by armed conflicts in Myanmar since the 2021 military coup has reached 3,019,550, according to figures compiled by BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor.

The Arakkha Army (AA) attacked the military’s Buthidaung-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 565 with drones on the afternoon of April 24 and fighting continued to intensify on Thursday.

The UN human rights chief’s statement did not mention Muslim armed groups and emphasised only Muslims among those suffering from the fighting, while ignoring other victims, the AA said in response.

Some 30 junta soldiers from the Aung Mingalar border guard force police outpost in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, surrendered to the Arakkha Army (AA) on April 23.

Junta soldiers came again on Tuesday and told the residents that they could stay if they signed a document that they would not oppose the military regime.

Five male villagers aged 40 to 50 from Abuja Village in northern Maungdaw were abducted by an unidentified armed group on April 17. Their bodies were found near the village on April 22, according to residents.

With the monsoon season proper a little more than one month away, displaced residents are having difficulties rebuilding their houses due to prohibitive costs.

Civilian casualties have been reported in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, where fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) is intensifying, according to local residents.

The Arakkha Army (AA) has taken control of the junta’s Point 253, a key military camp east of Sanyin Village in Myebon Township, Arakan State, according to a reliable source.

Thousands of residents in Arakan State’s Ann Township, where fighting is escalating, are suffering from food shortages, and some deaths have even been attributed to lack of nutrition.

The Muslim men did not flee to avoid conscription for fear that their family members would be tortured by the regime, said a young Muslim man from Thaechaung Village.

Thousands of houses have been destroyed by junta troops and forcibly conscripted Muslims in arson attacks and by bulldozing in Arakan State’s Buthidaung town, according to residents.

At least 1,000 local people were reportedly displaced by fighting between the military and Arakkha Army (AA) in Thandwe Township, Arakan State.

“Children know nothing. When they get something new, they will just play with it. Adults also have little knowledge about how to take care of those things. The result is loss of lives,” said a Muslim woman

Junta airstrikes killed 23 civilians across Myanmar during the period from April 1 to 19, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said in a statement on Friday.

Junta soldiers reportedly abducted a member of the local administrative body and a resident from their home in Gonechein Village in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, on the night of April 19.