Thousands of displaced civilians need water, assistance in Rakhine State

More than 80,000 people are currently in critical need of food, shelter, and water in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu and Ponnagyun townships, according to locals and humanitarian volunteers. As clashes continued this week between junta forces and the Arakan Army (AA) in Kyaukphyu Township—a coastal city that houses fossil fuel pipelines and infrastructure projects backed by foreign investment—some 40,000 displaced civilians are weathering hardships and dangers in makeshift shelters in nearby hills and woods. AA fighters battled troops at the junta’s Infantry Battalion (IB) 32 base and in the village of Leik Kha Maw, Kyaukphyu Township, forcing residents of more than 40 villages to flee their homes. A volunteer helping the displaced said they were staying in temporary shelters built from bamboo poles and covered with tarpaulins or thatch. “As the monsoon season is approaching, there is an urgent need for shelter,” the volunteer said. “Moreover, since the displaced people are living in mosquito-infested mountains and forests, mosquito nets are urgently needed. Access to healthcare services is also critical.” The efforts of the Arakan People’s Revolutionary Government and local organisations to aid the displaced have proved insufficient as fighting has dragged on in the area, with the basic food, water, medicine and other necessary supplies they have provided falling far short of demand. Displaced people in temporary shelters in the hills and forests outside Kyaukphyu (Photo: Supplied) The fighting in Kyaukphyu Township began in February of this year, when the Myanmar army initiated attacks on suspected AA strongholds near the villages of Si Maw and Kyet Tein in Kyaukphyu Township. The AA now controls multiple villages in Kyaukphyu Township, according to residents. On Thursday and Friday, junta forces carried out drone strikes on two of the township’s villages, according to locals, resulting in the deaths of three women identified as Thein Thein Aye, 47; Chaw Su Yin Nu, 62; and Chaw Su, 39; as well as Chaw Su’s 11-year-old daughter May Thazin Khaing. The township’s oil and gas pipelines, partly owned by Chinese investors, have reportedly remained in operation despite the clashes, with junta forces at the Dhanyawadi naval base, IB 34 and Light Infantry Battalion 542 and 543 army bases well-positioned to defend them. Ponnagyun Township’s water shortage According to a representative of the aid group Ponnagyun Youths Association (PYA), some 40,000 people in AA-controlled Ponnagyun Township, including the displaced, are facing a dire and potentially deadly shortage of water. “They don’t have the water they need for drinking or daily use,” he said. “People wait all day to collect just a bucket of water. Some have dug wells, but they provide very little. Others walk up to six miles to fetch water, but they are only allowed to take one bucket each.” The scarcity has put at least 23 villages and five internally displaced people’s (IDP) camps in the township in need of immediate aid, as the PYA and other local charity groups lack the capacity to provide the necessary amounts of water. Aid from abroad cannot reach or pass through Ponnagyun Township’s combat zones due to restrictions imposed by the junta council, leaving only domestic groups and anti-junta armed organisations to assist. A dried-up lake in Ponnagyun Township (Photo: Ponnagyun Youths Association) The AA has been fighting the Myanmar military for control of Rakhine State since November 2023 and has taken over 14 of the state’s seventeen townships as well as Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chin State. Ponnagyun is located less than 15 miles northeast of Rakhine State’s capital Sittwe, which along with Manaung and Kyaukphyu is one of the only three townships in the state that remain under the military regime’s control. Regime forces’ outposts in Kyaukphyu and Sittwe have become targets of relentless attacks by the AA’s fighters. Manaung, which is located on an island in the Bay of Bengal, remains the only township where clashes between the AA and junta forces have yet to occur. Myanmar’s military council declared that a ceasefire would stay in effect from April 2 to the end of the month to allow for rescue and relief operations to proceed in response to the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit the central cities of Sagaing and Mandalay on March 28. Nevertheless, as of April 24 the junta forces had carried out dozens of attacks in Rakhine State since the announcement of the ceasefire, according to the AA’s Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office (HDCO). The junta operations included airstrikes, paramotor strikes, drone strikes, naval manoeuvres, and shelling with heavy artillery, according to the HDCO’s statement, which noted that the attacks had killed one civilian and injured 28, including five children aged five to 14. The attacks also caused damage to houses, shops, and a religious building, the HDCO said.

Thousands of displaced civilians need water, assistance in Rakhine State

Arakan Army-controlled Ponnagyun Township is facing a severe water shortage while junta forces’ assaults continue to force civilians out of their homes in Kyaukphyu

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