Junta’s blockading of key routes leads to food shortages for Arakan residents

By Admin 18 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
18 November 2023, Sittwe

Residents and shopkeepers told DMG that there are shortages of food items in Arakan State as the Myanmar military has blockaded roads and waterways in the state following renewed fighting this week between the junta and Arakan Army (AA).

Cargo trucks carrying commodities from Yangon, Mandalay and Magway regions to Arakan State have been trapped on roads leading into the state as junta checkpoints are not allowing vehicles to pass.

Townships including Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Myebon are facing shortages of goods, residents said.

“There is a shortage of basic foodstuffs such as rice and cooking oil, potatoes, beans, and instant noodles. I have stopped selling food products to people from villages and neighbourhoods and have left them only for people in urgent need of food,” said a grocery owner in Kyaukphyu.

Arakan State imports basic food items such as rice, cooking oil, and onions, as well as vegetables, from mainland Myanmar. If the roads remain blocked over the medium to long term, food shortages in Arakan State may become dire, grocery owners warned.

“Since the day the fighting started, people have been buying extra food in fear, and the roads have been closed, so the old supplies have almost run out. If the products don’t arrive again soon, I don’t think the shops will have anything left to sell,” said a grocery owner in Myebon.

More than 100 cargo trucks are stuck along segments of road in Ann, Taungup, Maei, Thandwe and Gwa townships, according to freight operators.

“The regime did not block vehicles in just one place. All vehicles leaving Arakan State before November 13 have been ordered to stop at the point of arrival. More than 100 cargo trucks are stuck in Ann, Taungup, Maei, Thandwe and Gwa,” said a female entrepreneur running cargo transport between Yangon and Arakan State.

Many of these trucks contain green products and other  perishables such as chilies, eggplants and cabbage, meaning losses are likely to occur if shipments face significant delays, she added.

The military also blocked the flow of commodities during the 2018 fighting and 2022 fighting in Arakan State. Politicians have criticised the junta for violating human rights by cutting off food supplies.

“If fighting erupts in Arakan State, the military junta blocks land and water routes, and cuts off the supply routes. In fact, it is the same as violating human rights because it causes suffering to the people,” said U Aung Thaung Shwe, an Arakanese politician.

Customary international humanitarian law’s rule 53 states that the use of starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited. International humanitarian law’s rule 54 says attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of a civilian population is prohibited.