According to UNHCR, there are over 580,00 internally displaced people (IDPs) who still cannot return to their homes in Arakan State and Paletwa Township of Chin State.
The reasons the IDPs cannot return to their homes include the fact that armed groups have taken up positions in and around their villages, fear of a resurgence of fighting, the threat of landmines and the lack of security guarantees, it said.
“In order for us to return home, it is up to both armies. We want a complete cessation of fighting, clearing of landmines and reconstruction of destroyed houses,” said Daw Ma Shwe Win from Yay Soe Chaung village in Rathedaung Township.
According to the UNHCR office in Arakan State, the number of IDPs who have not yet been able to return to their homes is 5,088 in Buthidaung, 10,278 in Kyauktaw, 16,565 in Mrauk-U, 12,979 in Rathedaung, 3,199 in Ponnagyun, 211 in Minbya, 3,835 in Sittwe, 1,442 in Myebon, nine in Ann and 4,472 in Paletwa in Chin State.
For more than five years, villagers have been forced to take shelter in the Zeydi Pyin IDP camp near Yay Soe Chaung village due to fierce clashes between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar army. Military council troops have taken up positions on the hill east of the village since 2018 until today, preventing villagers from returning to their homes.
The IDPS, unable to return home and living in harsh conditions, were further affected by Cyclone Mocha, which struck on 14 May. Due to the storm, temporary shelters in IDP camps were damaged, making daily survival difficult, IDPs said.
“We are living in the shelters damaged by the storm by supporting them with poles. In terms of support, we only receive 30,000 kyats from WFP aid. In addition, prices have increased, so we can’t afford education and health care for our children,” said Ma New Nwe Than from Kawi Yadana IDP Camp in Kyauktaw Township.
After the military council and AA agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire in November 2022, the regime sent some IDPs from Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Ann and Paletwa Townships back home.
However, the military junta has failed to take responsibility for the returnees, so the issue of the IDPs’ return must be included in the peace talks, according to U Aung Thaung Shwe, a former member of parliament.
“During the summer peace talks, IDPs were forcibly returned to their homes without taking full responsibility. The government bears responsibility for this, and the issue of IDPs must be included in the peace talks. The IDPs are still neglected because their problem was not discussed in the talks,” he said.
While the military council bears the main responsibility for resolving the IDP issue, the restrictions on aid deliveries imposed by the military council after Cyclone Mocha have made the situation of the IDPs even worse.
As a result, some IDPs have had to sell relief supplies from UN and other aid organizations in local markets in order to survive.
Sent by DMG.