About 200 junta soldiers entered Malakyun Village in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan (Rakhine) State on 25 March 2025 and since then they have prevented anyone from leaving the village.

Both the villagers and displaced people (IDPs) fleeing from Kyaukphyu Town, who were passing through Malakyun Village, have been trapped there by the junta soldiers.

IDPs fleeing Kyaukphyu Town often transit through Malakyun, a village of 200 households about seven miles from Kyaukphyu Town, before continuing on to other destinations according to a source who spoke to DMG.

They said: “The evacuated IDPs usually stopover in Malakyun Village, it’s kind of like a transit point. But, when the soldiers suddenly arrived and surrounded the village, both the locals and the IDPs got trapped. Now, no one is allowed to leave the village.”

A resident of Kyaukphyu Town who is still in the town said: “If we need to evacuate, the Malakyun route is our only option. The other routes are right in the middle of fighting, so they’re almost impossible to use. The jungle routes are also full of landmines. So, the Malakyun route is the only choice. Now that the junta has blocked it, if war breaks out, everyone will be trapped.”

Malakyun Village is about three miles from the junta’s Police Battalion 32 (PB 32) base where there has been fierce fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the junta since the second week of March 2025.

Fighting in Kyaukphyu Township has entered its second month. It has forced the residents of 20 villages in the township to flee.