The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has strongly condemned misappropriation of humanitarian aid after WFP-marked food sacks were discovered at the junta’s Border Guard Police Battalion No. 5 base in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State.
The UN reported last month that up to 2 million people face imminent famine in war-torn Rakhine amid a worsening humanitarian crisis triggered by the 2021 military coup.
“Any misappropriation of humanitarian assistance intended for the most vulnerable communities depriving those most in need of life saving assistance is unacceptable,” the WFP said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The condemnation followed a report by the Rakhine-based Arakan Bay News (ABN) that thousands of sacks of rice belonging to the WFP were found at the base after it fell to the Arakan Army (AA) on Dec. 8.
Citing reporters who visited the defeated base, ABN reported that junta forces had used the sacks of rice to build bunkers. The ABN report was later confirmed by other local news outlets.
WFP said it was currently unable to verify the information as it lacked access to the base.
The reports come six months after junta troops were accused of looting and burning the WFP warehouse in Waisali village, Maungdaw. An aerial video released by the AA appeared to show junta soldiers removing sacks from the WFP warehouse and using them to barricade the district office, before burning down the warehouse.
The UN agency condemned the incident and called on warring parties in Rakhine to uphold their obligations under international law and ensure that humanitarian facilities are protected while providing safe access for the delivery of vital assistance to those in urgent need.
On Wednesday, the WFP reiterated that call, adding that it had supplied aid to 1.7 million people across the country this year amid a deepening crisis.
“The overall food security situation in Myanmar, already alarming, continues to deteriorate. Alongside ongoing conflicts, recent climatic shocks and the economic slowdown are further exacerbating hunger and malnutrition in Myanmar,” said the WFP statement.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the conflict between the junta and the AA has affected 16 out of 17 townships across Rakhine. The resurgence of violence has displaced an estimated 380,000 people in Rakhine and neighboring Paletwa in Chin State, pushing the total number of displaced individuals in the western state to well over 570,000.
The AA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance that has seized most of northern Shan State, including the capital Lashio, since launching Operation 1027 in October last year.
The AA expanded the operation to its home state of Rakhine in November last year and has since seized 12 of its 17 townships, along with Paletwa.
