Villages in Kyaukphyu Township are facing severe restrictions or outright bans on harvesting rice

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Villages in Kyaukphyu Township, Rakhine State, where battle is intense, are currently having difficulty harvesting rice.

In recent months, the military junta has been attacking areas controlled by the Arakan Army (AA), causing intense battle, and more than villagers who live in 20 villages around the area have been forced to flee to safer places.

The villagers that have been displaced due to the battle include Kyattain, Thabyu Taung, Thahpan Khar, Zai Chaung, Thaing Chaung, Pyar Chywaing, Ahchon, Min Khon Daing, Yenan Taung, Chaung Hpyar, Chaung Wa, Min Pyin, Kyauk Pyauk, Nga Oke, and Kyauk Kalay.

A local woman from Min Pyin village in Kyaukphyu Township, told BBM that the villagers who are currently displaced from the war should have harvested the rice they planted during the rainy season, but they are unable to do so due to heavy battle between the military junta and AA, and the two sides using heavy weapons and drones.

“During the rainy season, there was no battle in our villages. It was only on Pyaing Say Kay village. So we were able to work in the village without fleeing. Now that battles are starting on our villages, all the villages that were previously not displaced have to displace. No one has been able to harvest the rice they planted in the villages,” she added.

A man from Zaing Chaung village in Kyaukphyu Township, said that the villagers who are displacing from the war are not able to harvest their rice, which is causing a decrease in their income and making it difficult to make a long-term living.

“Without harvesting rice, farmers have no income. All the villages in Kyaukphyu township are working for their living. Since rice is not harvested, it may become difficult to make a living in the long run. Now, everyone is facing difficulties. Since they are fleeing the war, they are having difficulty in their livelihoods like food and shelter,” he said.

The military junta and the AA are currently engaged in fierce conflict in and around the villages of Min Pyin, Thaing Chaung, Yenan Taung, and Chaung Pyar in Kyaukphyu Township.

The military junta has sent thousands of troops, including military personnel, to the city to prevent the fall of Kyaukphyu, and troops are being sent to the front lines where the battle is intense every week.

The AA launched an offensive against military junta in Kyaukphyu Township on February 20, and it has been going on for nearly 10 months now, and the AA is also making military preparations to take control of Kyaukphyu, according to a military source close to the AA.

Kyaukphyu is home to the Dhanyawaddy Naval Headquarters, Battalion 34, Light Infantry Battalion 542, Light Infantry Battalion 543, and the 32nd Police Battalion.It is also a township with a strong naval force, Taung Maw Gyi Naval Base, and Ohn Kyun Naval Branch.

During the battle in Kyaukphyu Township, the number of people who fled the war from the city and villages to the AA-controlled townships has reached around seventy thousand (70,000), and they are in dire need of food, shelter, and health.