Myanmar Spring Chronicle – July 25 Viewpoint
(MoeMaKa, July 26, 2025)
Widespread Hunger, Crimes, and Extrajudicial Killings across Myanmar
A recent report from rural villages in Ngazun Township, Mandalay Region, states that over 10,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) are now surviving on leaves due to a severe shortage of rice and food. Fleeing advancing junta troops and fearing violence, residents sought refuge in neighboring villages, where they now subsist on edible plants, unable to access sufficient rice, meat, or fish.
In Hpakant, Kachin State—a major jade-mining area—prices have skyrocketed due to road blockades imposed by the junta. According to local media, a single egg now costs 2,500 MMK, and a meal costs up to 13,000 MMK. The two main access roads, Inn Taw Gyi and Kamaing, remain closed, driving up the cost of non-local food items like chicken, fish, and eggs.
Despite no major combat being reported in recent weeks, the junta has deployed over 1,000 troops to Hpakant and conducted airstrikes, making the region increasingly unstable. Because jade production brings significant tax revenues, both the KIA and junta are vying for control. The area remains crowded with tens of thousands of migrant workers, lured by job opportunities in jade mining despite risks of conflict, food insecurity, and inflation.
In Rakhine State, although there have been no major clashes in some areas, junta blockades have created widespread humanitarian crises. Hundreds of thousands are struggling to survive without access to basic necessities like food, medicine, and fuel.
Only two towns—Kyaukphyu and Sittwe—remain under junta control. These towns are rationed limited quantities of fuel and rice brought from outside the state, while the rest of Rakhine has endured months or years of total blockade. The dire situation—where oxen are used in farming due to fuel shortages—remains under-reported and underappreciated elsewhere in the country.
A recent report also noted that several military officers, including majors and colonels, were sentenced to death or life imprisonment by the junta’s own military courts for allegedly taking bribes to allow goods into Rakhine. This highlights how business operators continue smuggling goods at high profit margins, given the extreme price gap between Rakhine and central Myanmar.
Further compounding the crisis, reports say some Rakhine youths are fleeing to Bago and Magway Regions to escape forced conscription not only by the junta but also by AA, which has declared an emergency mobilization order.
Avoiding military service is becoming a key decision for many. In junta-controlled areas, forced recruitment through checkpoints and street roundups is increasing. Similarly, some resistance forces have imposed universal conscription orders within their territories, prompting families to flee to other towns or countries in search of safety and economic survival.
Even in towns viewed as safer, such as urban centers, IDPs are facing rising rents, higher crime rates, and the risk of conscription, all of which make daily life precarious.
In recent weeks, a string of violent robberies—particularly of **gold shops—**have occurred. One incident in downtown Mudon, Mon State, left the shop owner dead and his daughter seriously injured. Despite being far from active conflict zones, such crimes highlight the lawlessness and unchecked availability of weapons across the country.
In Mandalay, armed robbers attacked another gold shop, prompting a gunfight with junta security forces. This echoes a pattern of frequent armed robberies targeting gold shops, phone stores, and even private homes across cities like Mandalay and Monywa in recent years.
Crimes have become more deadly—moving from threats to outright shootings. Entire families have been murdered in home invasions, while even the junta’s stronghold of Naypyidaw is seeing routine armed robberies and homicides.
Whether in cities plagued by crime, or in rural villages under siege, people across Myanmar are struggling to survive amid war, blockades, and lawlessness.
The worst-off are those trapped in active war zones—displaced into jungles, mountains, or neighboring towns—facing daily airstrikes and food insecurity. For them, every day is a battle just to stay alive.