{"id":575700,"date":"2022-03-25T23:55:33","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T23:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/myanmar\/idps-03252022192507.html"},"modified":"2022-03-25T23:55:33","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T23:55:33","slug":"conflict-since-coup-pushes-myanmars-displaced-to-nearly-900000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/03\/25\/conflict-since-coup-pushes-myanmars-displaced-to-nearly-900000\/","title":{"rendered":"Conflict since coup pushes Myanmar\u2019s displaced to nearly 900,000"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n

Widespread conflict since the military took control of Myanmar has increased the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to nearly 900,000, according to the United Nations, and aid workers say that worsening food shortages are pushing the country ever closer to the brink of a humanitarian disaster.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the U.N. Humanitarian Office said that 519,900 people had been displaced by clashes between the military and anti-junta forces throughout the country of 54 million since the Feb. 1, 2021, coup, bringing the total of IDPs in Myanmar to 890,300.<\/p>\n

The estimate of IDPs, which adds to the 370,400 people who had already fled conflict zones in Myanmar prior to the coup, came as a rights group called on foreign governments to take stronger action against the military\u2019s widespread abuses in the lead up to Armed Forces Day celebrations planned by the junta for the weekend.<\/p>\n

The agency said that civilians are suffering the consequences of escalated fighting in northwestern Myanmar\u2019s Magway and Sagaing regions and the southeastern states of Kayah and Kayin, while aid groups have been hampered by tight security. The four areas are centers of fierce resistance to junta rule and have seen some of the worst violence since the coup.<\/p>\n

An aid worker who spoke to RFA\u2019s Myanmar service on condition of anonymity said refugees in the isolated Kayah townships of Demawso and Phruso have only poor-quality rice to eat each day because roadblocks erected amid the clashes had led to food shortages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation in Phruso is particularly bad. There\u2019s been a severe food shortage there for a long time because they don\u2019t have rice fields in the area and no rice can be transported there,\u201d the worker said. \u201cEven if you have money, you can\u2019t buy rice anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The worker added that those who have sought shelter in makeshift camps are also suffering from shortages of drinking water and medicine.<\/p>\n

In Sagaing region, where the military is engaged in a scorched earth campaign, junta troops have attacked villages, setting some on fire and forcing residents to flee.<\/p>\n

A resident of Shar Lwin village in Sagaing\u2019s Khin Oo township, where 63 houses were recently destroyed by arson during a military raid, said inhabitants are too frightened to return to the area and are facing a water shortage while in hiding.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany villagers are in trouble. We are hiding in the forest and \u2026 as summer approaches, the major problem is water scarcity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are health problems due to the change in climate. Not just our village, but all the villages in the area are suffering. I\u2019m praying for a quick end to these troubles.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Khin Oo\u2019s Kala Lu and Shar Lwin villages alone, troops set fire to at least 327 homes during the month of March, displacing an estimated 2,500 people.<\/p>\n

In Southern Chin state\u2019s Kanpetlet township, a week of intense fighting between the military and the anti-junta Kanpetlet Chin Defense Force (CDF) from March 10-17, forced more than 1,000 people from 10 villages to flee to the jungles, residents said \u2014 most of them with only the clothes on their backs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFighting has been going on for some time between the junta and the CDF and the military fired heavy weapons randomly into the area several times,\u201d said one of the township\u2019s residents, who also declined to be named.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the elderly, children and disabled are now hiding in the forests and mountains. When fighting broke out, people were not prepared, so they had to flee to safety in a rush with nothing they needed. Everyone is having a hard time without any food.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\"Kayah\n
Kayah war refugees in Southern Shan State's Naungdaw township, Jan. 30, 2022. Credit: Khu San Oo<\/figcaption>\n<\/small>\n<\/figure>\nSupply routes blocked<\/strong><\/p>\n

An official with the Chin Affairs Federation, who asked to be identified only as Mary, said the junta is actively blocking supplies to the area, exacerbating food shortages.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in the country are now living in fear. As soon as the soldiers enter a village, their priority is to destroy rice mills, if there are any. They always burn the rice mills first and then the barns,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is their strategy. When they cut off the food supplies, it becomes very difficult for people to survive. That\u2019s the main problem facing IDPs in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that it was impossible to provide adequate assistance to refugees because of blocked food supply routes.<\/p>\n

Ko Banyar, the director of the Karenni Human Rights Group, which helps refugees in Kayah state, called on the junta to reopen supply routes to alleviate hunger in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood embargoes should never be imposed on IDPs emerging from conflict zones, regardless of the political situation,\u201d he said. \u201cThe blockades must be reopened so that international aid can flow freely. These [IDPs] are the people of Myanmar, not enemies of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ko Banyar also urged the U.N. to hold talks with the junta to ensure that refugees receive the help they desperately need.<\/p>\n

The U.N. Humanitarian Office said staff have assisted refugees in northern Shan State but warned that the number of IDPs has increased drastically, as fighting intensified between the military and ethnic armed groups.<\/p>\n

Last week, the agency said in a statement that despite an influx of humanitarian aid for 6.2 million non-IDPs in need of assistance, Myanmar has yet to receive funding for key sectors.<\/p>\n

\n\"Myanmar's<\/a>\n
Myanmar's military ruler Min Aung Hlaing presides over an army parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2021. Reuters<\/figcaption>\n<\/small>\n
\n\n\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nMarking Armed Forces Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also on Friday, New York-based Human Rights Watch called on concerned governments to strengthen economic sanctions against junta members and other senior military officers, as well as military-owned conglomerates, as it highlighted the military\u2019s atrocities ahead of Armed Forces Day, observed in Myanmar on March 27.<\/p>\n

The group also called for the United Nations Security Council to adopt a global arms embargo against Myanmar and refer the country situation to The Hague-based International Criminal Court over atrocities targeting civilians since the coup.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernments joining Myanmar\u2019s Armed Forces Day celebrations are celebrating the military\u2019s brutal suppression of its own people,\u201d said Manny Maung, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernments should instead participate by enacting targeted sanctions against the generals and military businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

On March 27, 2021, Myanmar security forces\u00a0killed\u00a0as many as 163 anti-coup protesters in deadly crackdowns in what is thought to be the bloodiest day of violence since military takeover.<\/p>\n

Since the coup, security forces have\u00a0killed\u00a0people more than 1,700 civilians and arrested more than 9,900, according to Thailand\u2019s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, a joint report\u00a0by Fortify Rights and the Schell Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School identified 61 senior military and police officials who ordered abuses or are otherwise directly implicated in what it designated crimes against humanity in the first six months after the coup.<\/p>\n

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Biden administration had imposed sanctions on five Myanmar nationals and five entities in response to the junta\u2019s crackdown on civilians.<\/p>\n

In a statement that highlighted the deadly violence in Myanmar on Armed Forces Day last year, Blinken said that the sanctions were levelled by the administration \u201cto show our strong support for the people of [Myanmar], and to promote accountability in connection with the coup and the violence perpetrated by the regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n


\r\nThis content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia<\/a> and was authored by By RFA\u2019s Myanmar Service.
<\/p>\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aid workers say refugees are facing critical food shortages due to blocked supply routes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10026,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46611,2242,1411,1009,46155,42620,44854,42739,46612,785,27149,43805,27150],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10026"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":575704,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575700\/revisions\/575704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}