Kyaukphyu town faces rice shortage

By Admin 24 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
24 November 2023, Kyaukphyu

Wards in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu town are facing rice shortages due to the junta’s isolation of the town, said residents.

Myanmar’s military regime has not allowed drivers to pass through the Kyauk Talone checkpoint just outside the town. It has also issued an order banning water transport along the sea adjacent to the town until December 19.

As Kyaukphyu is an island town, residents rely on other townships to buy food supplies. The town mainly sources rice from Sittwe, Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships, with the bulk of shipments made by water.

“I have gone to almost all the rice shops and rice mills in the town to buy a sack of rice. But I still can’t buy one. Rice shops told me that they don’t even have broken rice to sell,” said a Kyaukphyu resident.

Rice shops ran out of stocks on Tuesday in Kyaukphyu town, according to rice shop owners.

“We mainly buy rice from townships in northern Arakan State and transport it by boat. We might have bought large quantities of rice if we had known that waterways would be blockaded. But they blockaded waterways immediately after issuing the order. So, we have nothing left to sell,” said a rice shop owner in Kyaukphyu town.

The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army did not clash in Kyaukphyu Township in the previous fighting. There is also no fighting in the town currently, and residents have called on the regime to relax security restrictions.

“There will be theft and mugging if people are starved. People will also rise up in revolt. So, [the regime] needs to take people into consideration if they want to maintain stability in the town,” said Kyaukphyu resident Ko Nay Soe Khaing.

The regime has detained at least 10 civilians in Kyaukphyu town, and armed junta soldiers are guarding or patrolling around bus terminals, jetties, airports and other strategic locations. They have also been reported visiting houses at night to check if there are unregistered overnight guests.