A junta blockade has left an estimated 400 civilians, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), patients, and students, stranded on Maday Island in Kyaukphyu Township, local sources reported.
The stranded group had been attempting to travel from the island to Kyaukphyu Town and further mainland destinations across Myanmar for healthcare, education, and relocation. Instead, they remain trapped as restrictions tighten across key transport routes.
Those affected include residents of Kyaukphyu, Ramree, Ann, Taungup, and Thandwe townships. Students who returned home during school holidays are also unable to get back to schools in Kyaukphyu Town, effectively cutting off access to education.
“Around 400 displaced people and patients in need of medical care in Kyaukphyu and other parts of Myanmar are currently stranded on Maday Island. Some have already been stuck there for months. Since fighting escalated near Sane Town in Kyaukphyu Township, junta forces have shut down all travel routes, leaving patients, students, and displaced residents equally affected,” a Kyaukphyu resident told DMG.
Junta naval and ground forces have tightened controls over both land and water movement, effectively sealing off Maday Island. Civilian boats are barred from entering or leaving, with access to nearby waterways also heavily restricted.
The blockade has also driven up basic commodity prices on the island, worsening living conditions for those unable to leave.
Although the junta’s General Administration Department has recently issued travel approvals for a limited number of residents, local sources said most of those permitted to exit are civil servants aligned with the junta and their family members.
Residents also reported heightened security measures, including increased checks and interrogations by personnel from the nearby Danyawadi Naval Base.
Fighting in Kyaukphyu Township has escalated since mid-May, with clashes reported between the Arakan Army (AA) and junta forces in areas between Sane Town and the Taungmawgyi naval station.
Maday Island, located at the mouth of the Thanzit River near the Bay of Bengal, is a strategically significant site linked to major China–Myanmar energy infrastructure.
The island hosts around 3,000 residents across five villages — Ywarma, Pyein, Kyauktan, Kyeinchaung, and Katoseik — and contains oil storage facilities and deep-water port infrastructure developed by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Crude oil and natural gas are offloaded there before pipelines transport them to Kunming City in Yunnan Province, China.
