United States: According to the United Nations, the renewed fighting this week between Myanmar’s Armed Forces (MAF) and the Arakan Army (AA) has displaced more than 26,000 people in western Rakhine state.
In a statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) stated that the most recent data brings the total number of internally displaced people as a result of the fighting between the two factions to almost 90,000.
Eleven deaths and more than 30 injuries have been reported since an informal ceasefire agreed a year ago broke on November 13, the statement added.
It further said that more than 100 people have reportedly been detained by the MAF and five by the AA. Since Army General Mr. Min Aung Hlaing took over in February 2021, fighting between the military and resistance groups has been occurring practically every day throughout Myanmar, throwing the country into economic chaos and a new civil war.
The most recent fighting began when the AA reportedly attacked two border posts near the Maungdaw township, which is near the border with Bangladesh.
As per the UN body, an informal ceasefire had been established by the two parties in November 2022. It added that there have been reports of MAF shelling in AA-controlled areas and that the military had conducted at least one operation backed by air and naval support.
Most humanitarian activities have been suspended due to the fighting and “virtually all roads and waterways” between Rakhine townships have been blocked, the statement noted.
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