Some 2,000 people displaced by recent armed conflict in Namhsan Township in northern Shan State are reportedly in need of assistance.
These people have been forced to flee their homes by armed clashes between military council troops and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and are in need of various relief supplies and food, according to Ta’ang civil society organizations and locals.
“It’s difficult to provide for those who have remained in the villages and those who have gone to nearby villages to seek shelter. There is also concern about the situation on the route, so no group has gotten there to provide assistance. Most of the IDPs here have mainly received food donations. Now that it is winter, they need many blankets and warm clothes,” they said.
A resident of Konethar village, who has taken refuge in Namhsan town center, also said that the people who have been displaced to the surrounding villages and forests need food and medical aid.
“We are in Man Lon monastery. I want donors to consider helping them because not many people have donated to them. In the town, we have many donors. But many don’t come to donate for rural villages like Man Lon. So the IDPs there are suffering even more. The situation is worrying for them because they don’t even have the necessary medical supplies,” said a resident of Kone Thar village.
The clashes in Namhsan Township forced nearly 2,000 residents from five villages – Kone Thar, Human, Pan Lon, Sam Ngam and Pang Lauk – to flee to downtown Namhsan and neighboring villages and forests, he said.
Ta’ang civil society organizations said more than 1,000 people have taken refuge at Zayang Gyi monastery in Namhsan, while others have sought shelter in surrounding villages and forests.
Although Ta’ang social groups and Namhsan welfare organizations are helping those who have sought refuge in the town, people who have gone to nearby villages and forests need assistance, according to locals and those helping the IDPs.
If the fighting does not cease, the living conditions of the displaced will worsen, said an official from a Ta’ang civil society organization.
“If the fighting continues like this, the living conditions for IDPs will be very difficult this winter,” he said. As for health, among the displaced are elderly people, women and children. So their health is affected and they are facing various difficulties,” he said.
In addition, those willing to reach out to IDPs to provide assistance may face difficulties, either because of the current political instability or because of the difficulty of transportation, he added.
“There are difficulties and challenges because it’s a little bit too far, and the situation on the way is also risky. They are facing difficulties because there are tens of thousands of them now.”
On Dec. 7, fighting broke out between military council troops and the TNLA in Kone Thar village in Namhsan Township in northern Shan State, displacing residents from nearby villages, including Kone Thar.
During the fighting, some houses in Kone Thar village were burned down and almost all houses were damaged by artillery fire or air strikes.
Therefore, in order to resettle in the village, the residents have demanded that both armed organizations take full responsibility and rebuild the damaged houses.
Sent by NMG.