Junta employees in Kyaukphyu forced to support regime

By Admin 25 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

25 September 2025, Kyaukphyu

All departmental employees in Kyaukphyu, Arakan State, an island town still controlled by Myanmar's military regime, are reportedly being pressured to support the junta's actions and cooperate at any time.

Employees were pressured through department heads, with a Kyaukphyu resident close to the General Administration Department (GAD) saying, "The GAD has been issuing instructions to other departments for a long time to support the military and not to refuse if the military calls them. In September, the GAD again pressured junta employees to strictly follow that instruction."

He added that those who do not comply with the directive will be threatened with salary cuts, action under the Civil Service Law, and potential criminal charges.

On September 18, departmental employees were forcibly called in to welcome junta soldiers retreating from the frontline near Kyaukphyu.

"The GAD told us to welcome the junta soldiers. We couldn't refuse; the GAD said it was a direct order from the military. We would like to do our job, but we can't disobey the GAD's orders," said a female employee at a department in Kyaukphyu.

Locals say that fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in Kyaukphyu is intense, with the former suffering many casualties, and wounded soldiers being transported by warship to Sittwe for medical treatment.

However, it has also been reported that propaganda was used to make the public believe that the junta soldiers had returned from the front after winning the battle as departmental employees were forced to welcome the junta soldiers.

"In urban Kyaukphyu, only the grassroots and junta employees are left. The junta employees are being used as a force by the military regime. The junta employees are being forced to do whatever the military regime tells them to do and say," said a local man in Kyaukphyu.

Since early 2024, many residents of Kyaukphyu have fled to areas controlled by the Arakan Army due to deteriorating security conditions, including tight security, arrests, and threats by junta soldiers.

In the course of the battle for Kyaukphyu, which began in February of this year, two junta brigadier-generals and hundreds of rank-and-file soldiers have been killed, and a major and a large number of troops have been captured by the Arakan Army.

The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army are engaged in clashes in Mintattaung Village near the No. 32 police battalion in Kyaukpyu town, and in Kyattein and Pyarte villages near Danyawadi Naval Base.