Humanitarian and food assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Palaw and Tanintharyi Townships, Tanintharyi Region, has become difficult due to the blockade by the Myanmar Army, according to reports.
According to IDP aid workers, IDPs in Tanintharyi Region are finding it increasingly difficult to access food as the military council checkpoints have tightened restrictions on the transportation of supplies.
An IDP aid worker said: “They have restricted the number of rice sacks that can be transported. Instant noodles and canned fish have no chance. The military council has restricted the movement of goods on all roads in areas where they suspect the presence of People’s Defense Forces (PDFs). As a result, it is no longer easy to supply IDPs with food and humanitarian aid.”
They have also been incidents in which medicines and relief supplies for IDPs have been destroyed or confiscated at junta checkpoints, the aid worker added.
According to the Dawna-Tanintharyi IDP support group, the IDPs have had increasing difficulty in accessing food in recent days as Myanmar Army checkpoints at Ka Myaw Kin Bridge, in southeast Tanitharyi and in Palaw Townships have allowed only limited transportation of supplies.
A spokesperson of the Dawna-Tanintharyi IDP support group said: “Food is the most basic need. It is constantly needed. And because of military tensions, transportation difficulties, restrictions and bans on the transportation of essential staples like rice in some areas, access to food is not easy. But for now there is enough to eat. They have to be frugal.”
Resistance groups say the military council has adopted the “four-cut strategy” in Tanintharyi Region since last year.
According to records, there are nearly 46,000 IDPs in more than nine townships in Tanintharyi Region, with Yebyu Township hosting the largest IDP population.
In addition to the ongoing military tensions between Myanmar Army troops and resistance forces in Tanintharyi Region since early 2024, the number of IDPs has also increased due to the military council’s offensives, IDP aid workers say.
Sent by IMNA