July 7th, 2022
Th State Administration Council (SAC) on July 7th forcibly returned more than 700 IDPs to their homes in Ann Township, Arakan State, which have not yet been properly cleared of landmines.
The IDPs are from Indoor Sports Venue, Kamdite, South Market Ward, Airport Ward, and the southern and northern wards of Ann.
The SAC sent them back to their homes in four military vehicles around 9am on July 7th, an IDP camp official said.
“We told them we would not return home until the mines were cleared. But now it is worrying that they were sent back before the mines were cleared,” said a Dalet resident who did not want to be named.
The area where the IDPs are being sent back was affected by fierce fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Burmese military two years ago and was been heavily mined.
A local man identified as U Kyaw Tun Oo, 66, from Darlet village (west), lost both legs and died after being hit by a landmine while walking on his own cashew plantation about a mile from the village.
Locals reported that a villager was hit by a landmine on his way to his plantation in the hills near Natmaw village in the Mingalardon village tract after the IDPs in Ann were first sent back to their homes. There was also a similar landmine explosion in the area in May, but no one was injured, locals reported.
The people forcibly returned home by the SAC included more than 700 people from a total of 151 households.
The military council provided 500,000 kyats to each household, while the district disaster management department provided 100000 kyats for house repairs and 9000 kyats to buy rice.
A villager from Darlet said they returned to their homes because of the lack of jobs and food shortages in IDP camps, despite the danger of landmines and explosive remnants of war in the area.
“I have not heard of any demining in our area, except along Yangon-Sittwe Road. We are not sure if they have cleared mines or not. We are afraid of the danger of mines. We still do not dare to go to the nearby hills like before” said the villager.
Previously, the SAC had returned 700 IDPs to their homes in Ann Township on November 6th, 2021 and over 1000 IDPs on May 17th this year.
This brings the number of IDPs in Ann Township down to just 1000. The IDPs say they are not ready to return because of the military council’s failure to clear mines near their villages.
The IDPs in Ann Township are the result of the fighting between 2019 and 2020.
Sent by Khaing Lu Hla (Yoma Land)
