As heavy fighting intensifies across Sittwe, residents attempting to build bomb shelters at their homes for protection are being ordered by the military junta to dismantle them, according to local sources.

Arakan (Rakhine) State recorded the highest number of military incidents in Myanmar during the week of October 16–22, while at least 78 civilians were killed and 60 others injured in attacks nationwide, according to a report by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica (NLTA).

A woman was killed and two other civilians, including an internally displaced person (IDP), were wounded during an afternoon airstrike on Pannilar Village in Ponnagyun Township on October 23.

Fierce clashes between the military junta and the Arakan Army (AA) are continuing across Sittwe Township, as junta forces reportedly carry out aerial bombing raids inside the city.

Panic has gripped Sittwe after an aircraft reportedly dropped bombs on the city at around 8:00 a.m. on October 23, causing civilian casualties and prompting residents near the blast sites to seek refuge elsewhere.

At least six residents were killed and 37 others injured when a Y-12 aircraft reportedly dropped bombs on downtown Sittwe, which is under junta control, on the morning of October 23, according to local sources.

Fierce clashes continued for a second consecutive day on Ngapyi Island in Werathani Township near Sittwe on October 22, with remnants of a military junta amphibious assault force still trapped on the island, according to local sources.

The military junta has allowed detained former State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to speak with her son, Kim Aris, by telephone for the first time in more than five years, according to statements from Aris and reports by international media.

A military junta column of around 500 troops advancing toward Kyindwe Town in Kanpetlet Township, Chin State, has suffered heavy casualties in ambushes by resistance forces, according to military sources.

The military junta has replaced its Arakan State Security and Border Affairs Minister amid escalating fighting near Sittwe, according to an announcement dated October 22.

Two women were injured when a military junta Y-12 aircraft dropped more than 10 bombs on residential areas in Anjanapura Township late on October 21, according to local residents.

Widespread job losses and declining incomes in Thandwe and Gwa townships in Arakan State are leaving many residents unable to afford basic food supplies and essential medical care, according to local sources.

People with disabilities in western Myanmar's Arakan (Rakhine) State face worsening humanitarian conditions as armed conflict, landmines, airstrikes and restrictions on aid deliveries threaten their safety and access to essential services, according to a new report by the Center for Arakan Studies (CAS).

Two days of military junta airstrikes near Pi Chaungzone area and Lonetu Village along the upper Laymyo River in Paletwa Township, Chin State, killed nine civilians and injured five others, according to a statement released on October 20 by the Chin People’s Union/Chin People’s Army (CPU/CPA).

Junta aerial attacks targeting urban wards and nearby villages in Werathani Township late on October 20 killed four civilians and injured four others, including a volunteer with the Pauktaw Social Assistance Association, according to local residents.

Two soldiers forcibly conscripted by the military junta and deployed to the Kyaukphyu frontline have defected to the Arakan Army (AA), citing physical abuse and harsh treatment by their superiors.

Some staff members of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) based in Sittwe, Arakan State, are relocating to Yangon as armed conflict intensifies around the state capital.

The annual Shanti Mata festival, a Hindu religious observance, was held on a smaller scale in areas controlled by the Arakan Army in Arakan State this year amid fears of military junta airstrikes.

The military junta launched waves of heavy airstrikes near the U Sun Mountain range west of Apaukwa Village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, on the morning of October 20.