Local residents have been left unable to work on their orchards after a battle broke out in Kyaungsharkwin near Ah Lel Sa Khan village of Lawt Thaing village tract in Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, according to reports.
Fighting broke out between Myanmar army troops and a joint force of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) after the junta troops advanced into the surrounding areas near Ah Lel Sa Khan.
Currently, the military council troops have taken their positions around Ah Lel Sa Khan, and tensions between the two sides remain high, preventing residents from going to their orchards, according to local orchard owners.
One orchard owner said that the inability to go to the orchards makes harvesting and selling difficult and even becomes a livelihood challenge for people.
“The orchards are the main source of income in this area. Most people depend on the orchards. If they can no longer go to the orchards and pick fruits, it will be difficult for their livelihood. Their livelihood becomes better only when they can pick those fruits. But now it has become difficult because we can’t go,” he said.
Locals who live mainly from the orchards said they are facing difficulties because of the fighting, while rising commodity prices are also making it harder for families to cover their living expenses.
Under the current circumstances, they have had to sell their belongings to cover the family’s living expenses, said one elderly woman.
“We live off our orchards. Now we can’t go to the orchards. We still have to make a living, so we have had to borrow money from others. We have had to sell things at whatever price we could get. Rice prices are also high. The orchards are our main source of income. Now that we can’t go to the orchards, we have to make do with the little we have,’ the woman said.
Under normal circumstances, the orchard business can bring in an annual income of at least 30 million kyats to over 300 million kyats, depending on the size of the orchard, according to locals.
Locals said they were concerned about landmines as there have been explosions of landmines in Kyaungsharkwin in addition to armed clashes in Kyaungsharkwin near Ah Lel Sa Khan village in Yebyu Township.
Also, in late May, a skirmish occurred between junta troops and a joint KNLA force near Lawt Thaing and Ah Lel Sa Khan villages in the east of Thayarwaddy village in Yebyu Township, according to locals.
The Ah Lel Sa Khan area in Yebyu Township is an area under the control of the New Mon State Party, where Myanmar army troops, Karen armed forces, and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs), which emerged after the military coup, are reportedly present.
Sent by IMNA.