Kyaukphyu farmers unable to harvest paddy amid escalating junta attacks

By Admin 08 Dec 2025

DMG Newsroom

8 December 2025, Kyaukphyu

Farmers in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, are facing difficulties harvesting their paddy this season due to the threat of heavy weapons and airstrikes from Myanmar’s military regime.

Farmers say they are afraid to harvest as junta forces continue to launch airstrikes and fire artillery from warships and ground bases targeting civilian areas.

“The paddy fields that we have cultivated with so much hard work are now ripe and ready to be harvested, but we don’t dare to go out to harvest them. It’s heartbreaking to see our paddy fields from afar,” said a farmer from Minpyin Village.

Villages that have not yet harvested their paddy include Minpyin, Yaynantaung, Chaungwa, Gawtu, Hminkhontaing, Chaungmyaung, Chaungphyar, Pyarkyein, Leikpyindwein, Pyuechein, Wahnetchein and Hsinbote village-tracts.

Locals in these villages have been cultivating paddy since June, despite numerous challenges, hoping to make ends meet.

In late October, junta troops advanced near Zaichaung, Kularbar, Gawtu and Yaynantaung villages, forcing residents to abandon their fields and flee.

“Some of the paddy fields are miles away from the fighting. If the military regime hadn’t attacked civilians, we would have gone and harvested them,” said a female farmer from Minpyin Village.

On December 3, junta drone attacks targeted farmers harvesting rice in Leikpyindwein Village, killing two women and injuring another.

According to DMG data, from February 20, when the battle for Kyaukphyu began, to December 5, the military regime’s artillery and airstrikes resulted in 31 deaths and 64 injuries, bringing total civilian casualties to at least 95.

“The military regime is targeting civilians, so it’s not easy to harvest rice. If we don’t harvest rice, we won’t have food this year. Meanwhile, we are living in a war zone, so we can’t think about how to solve our food problems,” said another woman from Minpyin Village.

The Arakan Army has warned residents of Kyaukphyu to remain vigilant and especially beware of airstrikes as the military regime continues to target civilian areas.

Fierce clashes continue near Minpyin, Yaynantaung and Thaingchaung villages in Kyaukphyu Township, with the AA reportedly retaking some areas it withdrew from last month.