ASEAN HEADLINE-Business | Rakhine State: As war rages on, banking services collapse in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Residents of Sittwe line up outside of a Yoma Bank branch in 2021 (Myanmar Now)
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The lack of cash in the state is adding to the hardships of residents reeling from a conflict that shows no signs of ending
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Residents of Rakhine State say they are running out of money as banks suspend basic services amid a conflict that has left them largely cut off from the rest of the country.
In at least seven townships, banks have stopped dispensing cash to customers because there is no longer enough available, according to locals.
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“With all transportation to Rakhine State blocked by the junta, there is no cash flowing into the state anymore,” said a money-transfer agent from Ponnagyun, one of the affected townships.
The restrictions on travel have been in place since last November, when the Arakan Army (AA) launched an offensive that has seen it take control of nine of the state’s 17 townships.
The group—since renamed the Arakha Army—has captured much of the northern part of the state, apart from the capital Sittwe and Maungdaw Township, and is also making gains in the. . .
