Junta's blockade in Kyaukphyu traps over 600 Arakanese, leaving them in dire hardship

By Admin 10 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

10 September 2025, Kyaukphyu

More than 600 Arakanese passengers have been trapped in Kyaukphyu town for over 20 days due to a military blockade, forced to endure extreme hardships including financial desperation, lack of food and shelter, and serious health risks.

The stranded passengers are Arakanese who had lived abroad or in other parts of Myanmar and returned via Yangon, planning to travel onward from Kyaukphyu to their hometowns. Instead, they are now prisoners of a blockade imposed without explanation.

"We have no money left for food, water, or a place to stay. We don't know how many more days this will go on. Innocent civilians are being deliberately confined and made to suffer," said a passenger from Kyauktaw Township.

The crisis began in the third week of August, when the junta suddenly banned all departures from Kyaukphyu. Until then, residents could leave with permission letters from the General Administration Department. Now, the military itself has sealed off the town.

Among those stranded are sick people separated from their families. "Their money is gone. At this rate, they may die here in Kyaukphyu without ever reaching home," said one woman.

Some desperate passengers have tried to escape by boat with the help of brokers, but junta naval forces patrol the waterways. At least 30 people have already been arrested. "The navy patrols the river constantly. People get caught again and again," a local man explained.

This is not the first time. In February 2024, about 100 Arakanese who flew from Yangon to Kyaukphyu were also trapped by the junta, and at least six were arrested.

Meanwhile, the military has intensified repression in Kyaukphyu town itself, conducting intrusive house-to-house searches and surprise inspections that have left residents living in fear.

Clashes between the junta and the Arakan Army (AA) have been taking place near the Danyawaddy naval base in Kyaukphyu Township, as well as around U Kain, Simaw, Shaukchaung, and Kathapye villages; near Min Tat Taung, Nanfay Taung, and Kandi village close to the 32nd Police Battalion; and around Lakekamaw and Malakyun villages near the China-backed OGT gas processing plant.

This latest episode exposes the junta's deliberate weaponization of blockades and collective punishment, where ordinary Arakanese civilians - not combatants - bear the suffering.