Maei

Maei
မအီမြို့
Town
Ma-Ei
Interactive map of Maei
Coordinates: 19°20′38″N 94°08′20″E / 19.344°N 94.1388°E / 19.344; 94.1388
Country Myanmar
State Rakhine State
DistrictTaungup District
TownshipTaungup Township
SubtownshipMaei Subtownship
Area
 • Total
1.703 sq mi (4.41 km2)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total
5,042
 • Density2,961/sq mi (1,143/km2)
Time zoneUTC+6:30 (MMT)
Postal code
07162

Maei (Burmese: မအီမြို့, , MAH-ee) or Ma-Ei is a town located in Taungup Township, central Rakhine State, Myanmar. In 2014, the town had 5,444 people, 12.4% of the total population of Maei Subtownship. In 2019 the town had a population of 5,042 and a sex ratio of 1.09.

The town of Ma-Ei is located on the northern border of the township with Ann Township. In 2014, the town had 3 urban wards. By 2024, the town had 4 wards with the fourth ward formerly being Pyin Won.

History

In 2020, the town's Arakan National Party chairman was arrest on suspicion of having links to the rebel group Arakan Army.

After the outbreak of the current Myanmar civil war in 2021, the town was later targeted by the Rakhine offensive. On the night of 16 February 2024, the town was captured by the Arakan Army after the Tatmadaw retreated from the garrison in the town's police station and the nearby Zee Zan Taung military camp. The junta's soldiers' families and military equipment were moved to Ann by helicopter. The State Administration Council had planted a lot of landmines in the town prior to their retreat. The heavy shelling mine explosions caused damage to houses and the town's high school. The Tatmadaw also destroyed the bridge crossing Maei Creek, which connects Ward 4 with the rest of the town, and the Kyaukkyipauk Bridge, which connects the town towards Kyaukphyu.

The town continued to be hit by punitive airstrikes like other resistance-held settlements in Myanmar. On 24 September 2024, the town was bombed killing 14 people, including children, and injuring 25. In August 2025, the town was struck twice by air strikes. In July 2026, the town was hit by air strikes from the Myanmar Air Force, causing 5 civilian deaths and 15 injuries.

Economy

Multiple types of fish are sold at the Maei market with one study in 2020 identifying over 24 speicies of fish. There is also a 120,000 acre rubber concession between Maei Subtownship and neighbouring Taungup Township.

The town has a sixteen bed hospital.

References

  1. 1 2 Myanmar Information Management Unit (September 2019). Taungup Myone Daethasaingyarachatlatmya တောင်ကုတ်မြို့နယ် ဒေသဆိုင်ရာအချက်လက်များ [Taungup Township Regional Information] (PDF) (Report). MIMU. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 Ministry of Immigration, Labor and Population (2014-03-29). "The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census: Maei Sub Township Report". Open Development Mekong (in Burmese). Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  3. ↑ Community Based ECCD Centres in Toungup Township (PDF) (Map). Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU). 25 February 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 "AA carries out demining in Maei". Myanmar Peace Monitor. 24 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "Maei town ANP leader released from military detention". BNI Online. 22 July 2020.
  6. ↑ "Ma Ei town Liberated from junta forces, AA conducts landmine clearance operations". Narinjara. 22 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Social Disruption: Junta Restrictions and Arakan Exodus". February 2024.
  8. ↑ "Myanmar Air Force bombs displacement camps in Rakhine State, killing 14 and injuring 25, including children". Mizzima. 28 September 2024.
  9. ↑ "တောင်ကုတ်နှင့် မအီမြို့တို့ကို စစ်ကောင်စီ ဗုံးကြဲ". Ludu Nwayoo. 14 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "မအီမြို့ကို စစ်တပ် ဗုံးကြဲသဖြင့် ၅ ဦးသေပြီး ၁၅ ဦးကျော် ဒဏ်ရာရ" [Military bombs Ma Ei Town, killing 5 and causing damage to 15 people]. 19 July 2026.
  11. ↑ Myo Min Tun (31 August 2025). "Species Occurrence of Marine Fishes in Cheduba Island, Rakhine State, Western Myanmar". International Journal of Earth Sciences Knowledge and Applications. 7 (2): 310–317. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17023215.
  12. ↑ Woods, Kevin (December 2012). The Political Ecology of Rubber Production in Myanmar: An Overview (PDF) (Report). Yangon. p. 22.
  13. ↑ Nay Pyi Taw (December 2015). "Annual Hospital Statistics Report 2013" (PDF). Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health. p. 138.