Introduction
More than 3 million people have been displaced by armed conflicts in Myanmar since the military coup. As the armed resistance against the military junta intensifies, the conflict areas have steadily expanded. There have been frequent reports of the resistance forces capturing towns and camps from the junta. Nevertheless, for the people of Myanmar fleeing the fighting and the junta’s threats, the safe havens to escape to have become increasingly limited.
This week’s Burma News International (BNI)-Myanmar Peace Monitor’s bi-weekly news review examines the plight of civilians trapped in the diminishing space amidst the military’s escalating offensives, drawing from available data and documented events.
Event
During the massacre 1 of over 70 people that occurred in Sut Yoe Kya Ward (Byaing Phyu village) in Arakan State’s capital Sittwe on 29 May 2024, thousands of people were forced to flee to safer areas. The military junta has relocated the villagers from Byaing Phyu village to monasteries in Sittwe such as Mani Yadanar, Sanga Yadanar, Eain Soe May Mi, Ya Tayar, Sit Kae, Dhamma Yeiktha, and Wibeiksawadi. However, they are facing difficulties as there is no provision of food.
“Nobody dares to go out in the town now. It’s even more deserted than before. The military council is preparing to use the remaining residents of Byaing Phyu village and the residents of Sittwe as human shields,” said a local man from Sittwe. 2
In another incident, over 3,000 people were forced to flee their homes after the junta conducted targeted bombings on Pyin Kaing village in Mingin Township, Sagaing Region, at around 4 am on 6 June. Additionally, on 3 April, a junta bombing targeting a wedding ceremony in Ma Taw village – located approximately 10 miles from Pyin Kaing – resulted in the deaths of 29 civilians, including 5 children, and left 66 others injured. Subsequent to this tragic event, over 2,000 locals from Ma Taw and neighboring villages were unable to return to their homes as of 6 June due to the junta’s artillery and air threats. 3
In northern Shan State’s Mongmit Township, intense clashes between junta troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and their allied forces, which broke out near Tha Yet Taw and Lel Gyi villages on the evening of 4 June, have forced over 2,000 locals to seek refuge in Mongmit town. 4
According to BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor’s records, about 8,500 civilians were displaced in the first week of June 2024 due to armed clashes and junta offensives across Myanmar. In just 5 months from 1 January to 6 June 2024, more than 562,000 people were displaced across the country.
Rising numbers of IDPs
Within 40 months from the military coup on 1 February 2021 to 25 February 2024, the total number of IDPs across Myanmar reached over 3 million (3,076,250). The year 2023 recorded the highest number of IDPs. 5
By year, over 250,000 people were displaced in 2021; nearly 900,000 in 2022; over 500,000 in the first five months of 2024.
Considering that the ‘defensive war’ of the resistance forces, aiming to dismantle the military dictatorship, transformed into an offensive war in 2023 – the year that saw the highest number of people displaced – civilians are facing increasing threats to their safety and survival as the war expands.
According to the BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor’s findings, most of the cases of displacement can be attributed to the military junta columns raiding villages across the country, firing from afar with light and heavy weapons and carrying out airstrikes. In addition, some of these cases are due to armed clashes between the junta and resistance forces.
Looking at the displacement figures across Myanmar by region, Sagaing Region has the highest number of IDPs at over 1.3 million, followed by Bago Region (East), Magway Region, Karen State, Karenni (Kayah) State, Shan State (South), Tanintharyi Region and Mon State, all of which have hundreds of thousands of IDPs.
Review
The upcoming 20 June is World Refugee Day. The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have warned in a report that 2.7 million people in Myanmar could be affected by acute food insecurity in 3 months from June to August. 6
In their joint report dated 5 June 2024, they note that, while the number of displaced people is on the rise due to the intensifying armed conflicts across the country, efforts to provide food and assistance are being curtailed, and they warn that over 13 million people in Myanmar could be affected by food insecurity in 2024.
The areas of armed conflict have steadily expanded as the resistance forces intensify their offensives to dismantle the military dictatorship. Despite the frequent reports of the resistance forces’ capture of towns and camps from the junta, the people of Myanmar fleeing the fighting and the junta’s threats are increasingly short of safe areas to flee to.
As the areas of armed conflict expand and the areas to which displaced civilians can flee shrink, there is an urgent need for practical support for the displaced.
The plight of displaced civilians in Myanmar is an issue that must be taken seriously by the National Unity Government (NUG) and all revolutionary forces. It is also an issue where the United Nations and international governments must urgently explore ways to ensure that emergency humanitarian assistance reaches those who are truly in need on the ground.
1 AA says up to 76 villagers from Byaing Phyu village killed, Narinjara,4 June 2024
2 Urgent aid needed for thousands of displaced Byaing Phyu villagers in Sittwe, Narinjara, 3 June 2024
3 Over 3,000 displaced after more shelling in Mingin’s Pyin Kaing village, RFA, 6 June 2024
4 Intense fighting in continues in Mongmit, around 2,000 locals displaced, RFA, 5 June 2024
5 Internally Displaced Persons Situation in Myanmar, BNI-MPM, 28 May 2024
6 Around 3 million in Myanmar at risk of food insecurity emergency, RFA, 5 June 2024