Internal displacement/forced migration of Kachin

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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: Maps, Baseline data, Population, 3W
Source/publisher: Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
Date of entry/update: 2012-07-04
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Description: "Theme: Shelter and Non-Food Items..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2023-12-20
Date of entry/update: 2023-12-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Theme: Shelter and Non-Food Items..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2023-12-20
Date of entry/update: 2023-12-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 1.98 MB
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Description: "Format: Map.....Theme: Shelter and Non-Food Items..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2023-11-03
Date of entry/update: 2023-11-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
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Description: "Format: Map.....Theme: Shelter and Non-Food Items..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2023-11-03
Date of entry/update: 2023-11-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "We, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), are deeply concerned over and condemn the reported bombing that impacted an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the Munglai Hkyet, Kachin State, on October 9, which claimed the lives of many civilians, including children. We reiterate our urgent call to end all forms of violence immediately, particularly those impacting civilians, and exercise utmost restraint to create a conducive environment for an inclusive dialogue toward a comprehensive solution to the situation in Myanmar. We reemphasize ASEAN’s commitment to assisting Myanmar in finding a peaceful and durable solution to the ongoing crisis through the complete implementation of the Five-Point Consensus for peace, security, and stability in the region..."
Source/publisher: Association of Southeast Asian Nations
2023-10-18
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The junta’s military likely used one of its largest aerial-delivered bombs during Monday night’s attack at Mung Lai Hkyet Village in Kachin State, according to an investigation by Amnesty International (AI). At least 29 people, including 13 children, died at Mung Lai Hkyet Village in Waingmaw Township on Monday night, while 57 were wounded in the attack, according to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). It said regime troops bombarded the village located about two miles north of Laiza Town—the headquarters of the KIA. “Amnesty International’s weapons expert analyzed photos and videos of the aftermath of the attack, which show evidence of a single massive blast that flattened dozens of nearby buildings – including a church, preschool and many homes – and started fires,” the rights group said in a statement released on Friday. It also confirmed reports that the first blast was followed by others, citing survivors of the attack. The size of the crater and the damage from the first bomb is consistent with the largest aerial-delivered bombs known to be in the inventory of the Myanmar military, AI said. The junta’s military almost certainly used an unguided bomb, which is completely inappropriate for use in the vicinity of civilians, it added. “This murderous assault by the Myanmar military is further proof of their complete disregard for civilian life,” said Matthew Wells, director of AI’s Crisis Response Program. “The world must wake up to the horror unfolding daily in Myanmar,” he added. The junta denied responsibility for the attack, saying on Wednesday that a KIA warehouse containing more than 100 tons of ammonium nitrate and weapons exploded. AI’s report said the bomb fell on a large open field near a road with regular vehicle traffic that was unlikely to be an ammonium nitrate storage area. The Myanmar military has an extensive history of carrying out indiscriminate attacks similar to Monday’s, including on other camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs). KIA spokesman Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the KIA would never put a gunpowder warehouse near civilians. “The [KIA] investigation team found pieces of bombs, and they are examining them,” he said. Mung Lai Hkyet sheltered more than 600 IDPs before it was obliterated. Survivors have been taking refuge in four shelters near the office of Woichyai IDP camp since the attack. They are in great need of humanitarian assistance, a local aid group said. In October last year, junta aircraft bombed an outdoor concert at A’Nang Pa Village in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township, killing at least 75 people. The concert was being held to mark the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the KIA’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization. Amnesty International is again calling for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and to refer Monday night’s attack to the International Criminal Court so that those responsible can be brought to justice..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2023-10-13
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: At least 12 children killed, and a reported 57 people injured
Description: "The Myanmar military killed at least 28 civilians in an air strike on a displaced persons camp in an attack that may amount to a war crime, Amnesty International said today. At approximately 11.30pm on 9 October 2023, the Myanmar military launched an attack that hit the Mung Lai Hkyet displacement camp, close to the town of Laiza in Kachin State, near Myanmar’s border with China. Witnesses told Amnesty International that a large bomb exploded near the camp, which was followed by sustained mortar fire from nearby Myanmar military positions. The world must wake up to the horror unfolding daily in Myanmar Matthew Wells, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme The camp is home to an estimated 150 displaced families and situated near other civilian homes in Mung Lai Hkyet village. The camp is around three miles from central Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/A), an ethnic armed group that has fought the Myanmar military for decades. “This murderous assault by the Myanmar military is further proof of their complete disregard for civilian life,” said Matthew Wells, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme. “The air strike on the Mung Lai Hkyet displaced persons camp is the latest in a long list of indiscriminate attacks against civilians committed by the Myanmar military since its coup in 2021, many of which amount to war crimes. “The world must wake up to the horror unfolding daily in Myanmar. The UN Security Council should impose a long-overdue arms embargo, including on the supply of aviation fuel, as the Myanmar military repeatedly unleashes its arsenal on civilians across the country.” Amnesty International’s weapons expert analyzed photos and videos of the aftermath of the attack, which show evidence of a single massive blast that flattened dozens of nearby buildings – including a church, preschool and many homes – and started fires. The blast wave caused catastrophic overpressure and fragmentation injuries to the victims, including fatal wounds to heads, lacerations that exposed organs, and the removal and pulverization of limbs. The size of the crater and observed damage is consistent with the largest aerial-delivered bombs known to be in the inventory of the Myanmar military. Amnesty International believes the Myanmar military almost certainly used an unguided bomb, which is an inaccurate weapon completely inappropriate for use in the vicinity of civilians. The Myanmar military denied responsibility in a statement, saying it was an explosion of a site where the KIO/A stored ammonium nitrate. That explanation is at odds with consistent witness accounts, which noted the explosion served as the start of a coordinated attack. In addition, the bomb fell on a large open field with regular vehicle traffic, unlikely to be an ammonium nitrate storage area. Based on the totality of the evidence, Amnesty International finds the most likely scenario to be a strike with a single unguided bomb. The Myanmar military has an extensive history of carrying out indiscriminate attacks similar to this one, including on other displaced persons camps. Under international humanitarian law, which applies to the ongoing non-international armed conflicts in Myanmar, including in Kachin State, indiscriminate attacks are those that fail to distinguish between military objectives and civilians or civilian objects, and as such are prohibited. Where an indiscriminate attack kills or injuries civilians, it amounts to a war crime. ‘On that night, I even thought that I would die’ Amnesty International interviewed three witnesses of the attack and immediate aftermath. One woman, whose family survived the blast, told Amnesty International: “I went to bed around 10.30pm. While I was listening to news about the conflict between Israel and Hamas on Facebook, at around 11.30pm, a huge bomb fell. “I was staying with my niece in one room, and my sister and other people were staying in another room. I suddenly woke up once the heavy weapons exploded. While I was still laying in my bed, I called out to my family members… I said, ‘We cannot stay here anymore. We need to move’. “As we are IDPs [internally displaced people], we have to live on other people’s land… We did not have a place to dig a bomb shelter. We had to hide in the concrete water drain on the side of the road. We sat there and kept on shouting for help… On that night, I even thought that I would die.” The woman and her nine family members remained hiding as mortar fire landed a short distance away, before escaping to take shelter nearby. She added: “When I look into the future of our [IDP] lives, I feel darkness.” A person staying nearby, who arrived approximately two hours after the bomb exploded, told Amnesty International: “We don’t know how they dropped or fired the first bomb, but we know that the… follow-up firing came from where [Myanmar] military posts are located. “I saw 28 bodies… Almost all [of the] people were killed because of the bomb blast. Some of their heads were destroyed beyond recognition. A mother and two of her children were among the victims. I could not bear it when I saw the baby and children die. I could not control my tears.” According to a list of victims seen by Amnesty International, which appears to have been compiled by the KIO, at least 12 children were among those killed, and at least 57 more people were injured. Another witness living next to the camp, who said he heard the sound of a jet overhead, told Amnesty International the bomb left a huge crater in the middle of a nearby field. He said a Baptist church on a hill, like dozens of other civilian objects near where the bomb fell, was destroyed. He said: “The explosion destroyed all the houses… In Kachin language, this kind of bomb is called a ‘hell bomb’… I had to crawl out of the debris to survive… My whole body is in pain, and my ears are still buzzing from the bombing.” Amnesty International is again calling for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, so that those responsible for crimes under international law can be brought to justice. Background Since carrying out a coup on 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military has increasingly relied on air strikes to attack the civilian population. The KIO/A is one of numerous ethnic armed organizations in Myanmar’s border areas. The Myanmar military and the KIO/A have been engaged in a non-international armed conflict for decades. Fighting between the two forces has continued since the coup, with the KIO/A active in the broader nation-wide movement against the military’s rule. In a May 2022 report, ‘Bullets rained from the sky’: War crimes and displacement in eastern Myanmar, Amnesty International found that Myanmar’s military had subjected civilians to collective punishment via widespread aerial and ground attacks, arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions, and the systematic looting and burning of villages. A further investigation in October 2022 found that deadly air strikes on a music concert in Kachin State, which killed dozens of people including civilians, appeared to fit a pattern of unlawful attacks. A November 2022 report, Deadly Cargo: Exposing the Supply Chain that Fuels War Crimes in Myanmar, identified companies involved in the supply chain of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military, and revealed new accounts of air strikes on civilians..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
2023-10-13
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-13
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Description: "By Chiara Torelli On the night of October 10th, 2023, the residents of Mung Lai Hkyet village, in Myanmar's Kachin state, awoke to explosions and tremors as bombs reduced their homes to rubble. In one of the deadliest attacks on civilians since the military coup in 2021, 29 civilians were killed, including up to 13 children, and another 57 injured. Most were internally displaced persons, who had escaped previous attacks on their homes. Local sources suggest the village was targeted by a plane or drone, rather than ground artillery, and place the blame squarely on the military government, who have denied any involvement. Since the coup, on February 1st 2021, AOAV has recorded 1,408 incidents of explosive weapons use in Myanmar, and 2,793 civilian casualties (1,016 killed, 1777 injured). 55% (769) of incidents of explosive weapons use are attributed to non-state actors, in particular the People's Defence Forces, Ethnic Armed Organisations, and local defence forces, but 80% (2,236) of civilian casualties are attributed to the military government. | Perpetrator status | Incidents | Civilian casualties | | Non-State Actors | 769 | 343 | | State | 560 | 2236 | | State and Non-State Actors | 1 | 0 | | unknown | 78 | 214 | Explosive weapons use in Myanmar since February 2021 Following the coup, the military government has regularly targeted populated locations with explosive weapons: villages account for the vast majority of recorded incidents of the military government's explosive weapons use, 64% (361), as well as the majority of resulting civilian casualties, 64% (1,426). Public gatherings, which account for only 1% (6) of the military government's explosive attacks, are the second most affected location in terms of civilian casualties, with 9% (193) of civilian harm occurring in these locations. | Location | Incidents | Civilian casualties | | Village | 361 | 1426 | | Public gathering | 6 | 193 | | Encampment | 18 | 140 | | Place of worship | 22 | 132 | | Urban residential | 35 | 87 | | School | 14 | 81 | | Other | 10 | 46 | | No information | 30 | 28 | | Multiple (urban) | 4 | 18 | | Hospital | 6 | 16 | | public building | 1 | 15 | | Road | 9 | 14 | | Agricultural land | 9 | 13 | | Police station | 1 | 7 | | Entertainment | 2 | 7 | | Armed base | 27 | 4 | | Market | 2 | 4 | | Commercial premises | 2 | 3 | | Humanitarian infrastructure | 1 | 2 | Myanmar military government's explosive weapons use since 1st February 2021 Ground-launched weapons account for the majority of civilian harm caused by the military government's use of explosive weapons in Myanmar, having killed and injured 50% (1,122) of the 2,236 civilian casualties. However, air-launched weapons have, on average, caused more civilian harm per incident, killing and injuring an average of 6.69 civilians per attack. | Launch method | Incidents | Civilian casualties | | Ground-launched | 366 | 1122 | | Air-launched | 140 | 936 | | Multiple types | 22 | 135 | | Mine | 31 | 42 | | Unclear | 1 | 1 | Myanmar military government's explosive weapons use since 1st February 2021 Myanmar, which in 2021 was the ninth most impacted country for civilian harm from explosive weapons, saw the sixth highest level of civilian casualties in 2022. Civilian casualties rose by 178% last year, from 353 recorded in 2021 to 980 in 2022 -- the highest level of civilian harm reported since 2010, and largely due to the military's response to intensified resistance and the growth of local People's Defense Forces. AOAV's casualty figures represent the lowest of estimations in terms of the number of people killed and injured by explosive weapon use. In an effort to quantify the explicit harm caused by specific explosive weapons, AOAV solely records incident-specific casualty figures, as reported in English-language media. AOAV condemns the use of violence against civilians and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. All actors should stop using explosive weapons with wide-area effects where there is likely to be a high concentration of civilians..."
Source/publisher: Action on Armed Violence (London) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2023-10-12
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-13
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Description: "WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: In the South-East, the number of displaced slightly decreased from 546,100 last week to 545,000 this week. In Kayin State, some 3,800 IDPs returned to their place of origin in Kyainseikgyi Township. In the Tanintharyi Region, due to indiscriminate shelling of heavy weapons in the area, close to 400 IDPs from Palaw Township, over 300 IDPs from Tanintharyi Township and over 5,300 IDPs from Thayetchaung Township were displaced within their Townships. Among them, some 1,200 IDPs were displaced within Thayetchaung Township as a secondary displacement. However, 1,800 IDPs returned to their place of origin in Thayetchaung township. In Shan (South), some 150 IDPs were able to return to their place of origin in Pekon Township. Across the border, about 7,100 people from Myanmar remain displaced in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
2023-10-12
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "12 October 2023: United Nations (UN) member States must take decisive action to bring the Myanmar military junta to justice following the latest junta attack which killed at least 29 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Myanmar’s Kachin state on Monday, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M). The junta attack began without warning around 11.30 pm on Monday, 9 October, destroying the village of Munglai Hyket where 100 families displaced by junta violence were taking refuge. Powerful artillery explosions ripped through the village leaving craters where houses once stood. At least 11 of the 29 people killed were children and 56 people were injured. This could constitute a war crime. “The Myanmar military is so emboldened by the indifference of the international community in response to its decades of atrocity crimes that it is now attacking camps for internally displaced people,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “The military is flagrantly massacring the most vulnerable people in society, and yet UN entities in Myanmar will not even publicly name the military as the perpetrator. At what point will the UN decide to stand with the Myanmar people?” Monday’s attack is the deadliest junta attack on civilians in Kachin state this year and comes almost a year after a junta airstrike on a music concert killed at least 60 people in the village of A Nang Pa, Kachin state, on 23 October 2022. The junta has escalated its campaign of brutal violence against civilians across the country this year in wilful defiance of UN Security Council resolution 2669, adopted in December 2022. The resolution “demands an immediate end to all forms of violence throughout the country”. Security Council demands within resolutions are considered legally binding under international law but the resolution does not include any measures for the Security Council to act to enforce its binding demand. “The junta is a rogue criminal gang that cannot be reasoned with,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “Attacking a camp for displaced people is an act so utterly depraved that it defies humanity. Such depraved acts of violence are the reason the Myanmar people have been forced into a nation-defining struggle to liberate themselves entirely from the Myanmar military’s influence.” The UN Security Council must enforce the junta’s compliance with its resolution using its powers under chapter VII of the UN Charter, through the imposition of a global arms embargo and targeted financial sanctions against the junta, and the referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). If the Security Council won’t, or can’t, act, member States must take action through the General Assembly and pass an urgent resolution during the current 78th session. “The abhorrent junta attack in Munglai Hyket is a result of the utter failure of the international community to act for the protection of the Myanmar people,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “Continued failure of UN member States to take collective concrete action to end Myanmar military impunity is a betrayal of the Myanmar people.”..."
Source/publisher: Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
2023-10-12
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-12
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Description: "At least two of three siblings hospitalized following the strikes that annihilated their village in Kachin State shortly before midnight on Monday have yet to learn that their mother was killed, according to a volunteer helping survivors. One is too young—one-and-a-half-months old—while the three-year old is unconscious. It is unclear whether their elder brother, a six-year-old, can comprehend what happened. “Their mother died at the camp while her three children suffered injuries from the bombing. The middle child is severely injured, and he remains unconscious,” the volunteer said, adding: “Their father is somewhere at a front line fighting against junta troops.” Like his oldest son, he may not yet know that his wife had been killed. He also may not know that his three children have been hospitalized. The three siblings are among the 57 people injured that night in a series of blasts that killed at least 29 people, including 13 children—one of whom was just one-and-half-years old. Regime troops bombarded the village located about two miles north of Laiza Town, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) said. Laiza is the KIA”s headquarters. “A girl from my village lost all of her family members; her parents, her older brother and his wife. She is the only one who was not harmed because she was studying away from home,” a resident of Mung Lai Hkyet Village said. “Now she has nothing.” She is not the only one. She is not the only one who lost an entire family, residents of the village that was home to internally displaced persons (IDPs) said. The junta said on Wednesday that the deaths were a result of an explosion at a KIA warehouse containing about 105 tonnes of ammonium nitrate and weapons—countering the media reports that said the deaths were caused by the junta’s airstrikes or shelling. KIA spokesman Colonel Naw Bu dismissed the regime’s account as “propaganda”, telling The Irrawaddy that the armed group would never position a gunpowder warehouse near civilians. A KIA investigation had determined that junta had either used a high-tech drone or a fleet of drones carrying bombs to strike the IDP camp, he added. Other media reports say a series of blasts began shortly before midnight, with some reporting that the first one occurred at 11.30pm. Former residents of the village told The Irrawaddy that there was a series of explosions. The first was massive, and it was followed by several more, they said. Some pointed to craters that they said were proof their village was obliterated by numerous bombs. More than 600 IDPs from Mung Lai Hkyet Village are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, local aid groups said on Wednesday. Most former residents of the village are taking refuge in four shelters near the office of Woichyai IDP camp, a representative of the camp told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. “We are struggling … We don’t have enough space for a large number of people. We also don’t have enough food to feed them,” he said. “They lost everything. We need to provide food, water, clothes, bedding, blankets, diapers, utensils and all sorts of commodities for them,” he added. Road blocks due to ongoing fighting between KIA troops and junta infantry units make it almost impossible to deliver humanitarian assistance to the victims, said a volunteer from Myitkyina, Kachin State’s capital. Former residents of Mung Lai Hkyet cannot return to their village because it no longer exists. “We want justice … This is not the first time they [junta troops] committed crimes against humanity,” a Kachin human rights activist, adding: “I want to stress the need for humanitarian assistance for those affected.” Following the massacre, the KIA and Myanmar parallel National Unity Government condemned the bombing as a war crime. The United Nations responded with a press release. It quoted Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying he was “alarmed” by the deaths and that “those responsible must be held to account.” “The Secretary-General condemns all forms of violence, including the military’s intensifying attacks throughout the country, which continue to fuel regional instability,” the press release from Guterres’ office added. The British embassy in Yangon also issued a statement. It said it was “appalled by reports of a Myanmar military strike” that killed civilians..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2023-10-11
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-11
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Sub-title: At least 29 people, including children, have been killed in an artillery strike on a displaced persons' camp in north-east Myanmar, near the Chinese border.
Description: "The camp is in an area controlled by the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), one of several ethnic insurgent groups which have been fighting for self-rule for many decades. All the victims were civilians, a KIO spokesman told the BBC. It is one the deadliest attacks in the 63-year-long conflict in Kachin State. Kachin officials say the armed forces have scaled up attacks on KIO-run areas over the past year because of growing Kachin support for other insurgent groups fighting the military government. Much of Myanmar has been embroiled in a wider civil war since a 2021 military coup displaced the country's elected government. The military has increasingly used air strikes against opposition-controlled towns and villages since seizing power. The exiled National Unity Government (NUG) has blamed the junta for the attack on the camp, describing it as a "war crime and crime against humanity". Junta spokesman Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun denied that the military was behind the attack. He claimed the army did not have any operations in the area and said the destruction was "probably" caused by stockpiled explosives. Devastation from the air in Myanmar's brutal civil war Global firms fuelling Myanmar's killer weapons The Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight Images shared by local media showed bodies being pulled from the rubble and dozens of body bags lying side by side. The attack late on Monday night happened in the Mong Lai Khet camp for displaced persons - on the outskirts of Laiza, the town on the Chinese border where the KIO has its headquarters. Parts of the camp were destroyed by powerful explosions at about midnight, KIO officials told the BBC. Footage of the aftermath shows many houses obliterated and large numbers of casualties. Kachin officials believe at least 11 children are among those killed. Fifty-six more people were also injured in the latest attack, 44 of whom had been taken to hospital for treatment. The United Nations in Myanmar said it was "deeply concerned" about reports of deaths in the camp. "IDP camps are places of refuge, and civilians, no matter where they are, should never be a target," it said in a statement on Facebook. The British embassy in the capital, Yangon, said it was "appalled by reports of a Myanmar military strike" that killed civilians. The area around the camp has experienced conflict for many years, as it is not far from the front lines, where Kachin troops in trenches face off against government forces. However, locals say that no fighting has taken place near the camp in recent times. It is possible the attack was carried out from the air, but Col Naw Bu of the Kachin Independence Army said the group "did not hear any aircraft". Almost exactly one year ago, the Myanmar air force used precision-guided bombs to attack an open-air concert at another Kachin base in the night, killing more than 80 people. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) - the KIO's armed wing - is one of the largest and most powerful insurgent groups in Myanmar. It has been fighting the central government sporadically since 1960 and consistently since a ceasefire broke down in 2011. Since the coup, the military government has viewed the KIA as a significant threat, as it has been giving weapons and training to some of the new insurgent groups which have formed across the country to resist military rule. KIA also has a long-standing alliance with the Arakan Army, an insurgent group formed initially in Kachin State. But since 2016, it has been operating in Rakhine State, on the other side of the country, where it has successfully challenged the military for control of much of the territory. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in its latest report on the country that it had found a "seemingly endless spiral of military violence"..."
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Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
2023-10-11
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "KNG spoke to one of the 5,000 civilians forced to flee recent fighting between the military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), backed by a People’s Defence Force (PDF), in Putao Township, where many people now live in jungle camps in northern Kachin State. Can you provide an update about the internally displaced persons (IDP) who fled the clashes near Lon Shar Yang, village-tract and around N’se Yang and Hpert Mar villages? The Burma Army (BA) has launched an offensive against the KIA and the PDF in Putao area using heavy weapons and flying airstrikes in the area. Shelling has landed near civilian villages. Because of this, some people have sought refuge in Putao town, but many have fled into the jungle. Some people have also fled to Myitkyina to seek shelter. Some people have returned to their village to check their homes and then return to their jungle camp. How many people are sleeping in the jungle? How many days have y’all been there? Most of the IDPs are senior citizens and children. We live in a bamboo hut with a plastic roof. A few people go to check the situation in the village and then return to the jungle camp. They go to get food from our village. When it rains, it’s very difficult living here. It was very hard running away from our village; we didn’t have any time to prepare to leave. Some elderly people couldn’t walk that long. We asked for help, however, nobody could pick us up because the price of petrol in Putao has soured. We feel desperate and broken. And we’ve lost hope for our future. Can you tell us what’s going to happen? What’s the current situation on the ground? Do you expect that it’ll get worse? I think the clashes will continue in our area because the the BA column is still present in our area. I heard they’ve already installed artillery and mortars in Hpert Mar village. We’ve padlocked our house and left our animals inside. Both armies are very close to each other and we worry about fighting happen inside of our village. What kind of assistance do the IDPs need? We need tarps and dried food. Although, we can get rice from our village, we still cannot send it to the mill. We mainly need food rations, tarps and medicine. How many have fled to the jungle and how many to Putao town? The Lisu have gone to Putao. And there’s about 100 IDPs in our jungle camp, mainly elderly, women and children. How many villages in Putao have fled? All the people from Hpert Mar village have fled to Putao. There are more than 800 houses in the Lon Shar Yang village area. People from Mazup Yang, Tang Ja Yang, Wadat, Masuam Zup, Sumpyi Yang, Madi Yang, N’seng Yang and Dindu Yang villages have all fled the fighting. I think there’s more than 5,000 people living in the jungle. In Sumpyi Yang and Madi Yang, there’s no one left. The fighting has been going on for three weeks now. Do you know how many clashes and deaths there have been? Until 22 February, I think there have already been more than ten clashes but can’t say for sure. I’ve heard that nearly 100 BA soldiers were killed in the clashes. I don’t know how many KIA and PDF soldiers have died. I also heard that soldiers were wounded during the clashes. About 200 BA soldiers are stationed in Sumpyi and Hpert Mar villages. Is there anything else you’d like to add? We’re worried about our security and that the BA will target our IDP leaders. If these leaders run away, the other villagers will be very upset. It’s difficult to send rice to the rice mill in our area and the road between Putao and Myitkyina is closed so we’re worried about food shortages soon..."
Source/publisher: Kachin News Group
2022-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2022-02-28
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Description: "A new briefing paper released today by KWAT provides an update of human rights violations by the regime’s security forces in urban and rural areas of Kachin State and Muse District of northern Shan State during April and May, 2021. Security forces have continued to use live ammunition against unarmed protesters, killing two men, in Bhamo and Hpakant. They have also continued hunting out activists in urban areas, arresting sixty-one people during the two months, including NLD members, doctors, journalists, and youth leaders. In rural areas, in response to losses inflicted by the KIA, the regime’s forces have stepped up brutal reprisals against civilians, including torture, arbitrary shooting, and shelling of residential areas. Youth in Myitkyina, Mohnyin and Kamaing have been arbitrarily arrested and tortured for suspected links to the KIA. This included three boys returning from playing football, who were detained in a military base for 12 days, beaten in the head with guns and burned with cigarettes. Escalated shelling along the Dawhpumyang-Momauk highway in southeast Kachin State has killed nine villagers and injured fifteen, including three children. This was in direct retaliation for KIA gains in the area, including the recapture of the Alaw Bum mountaintop base on March 25, and the shooting down of a regime helicopter on May 3. The attacks on civilians have caused large-scale displacement, with over 6,000 new IDPs fleeing to Momauk and Bhamo towns. Their former homes are now occupied by Burma Army troops from the notorious elite infantry divisions 77, 88 and 99, who have been looting villagers’ property, livestock and food. KWAT is calling for economic and diplomatic sanctions on the illegitimate coup regime, and for a global arms embargo and no-fly zone over Burma. Neighbouring countries, including China, are urged to stop the regime from using their airspace to launch attacks. KWAT urges foreign governments to endorse the National Unity Government as the legitimate government of Burma, and requests international donors to provide humanitarian aid cross-border to the IDPs in ethnic areas..."
Source/publisher: Kachin Women’s Association Thailand
2021-06-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-17
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Description: "This regular update, covering humanitarian developments in conflict-affected areas from 24 April to 24 May, is produced by OCHA Myanmar in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UNHCR. The next update will be issued towards the end of June 2021.....HIGHLIGHTS: Around 46,000 people were displaced in the south-eastern part of Myanmar between April and May due to the conflict and insecurity, about 37,000 of them displaced in late May following the clashes in Kayah State. In Chin State, thousands have been internally displaced following an escalation of hostilities in the town of Mindat since 12 May. In northern Shan, clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) and among EAOs continue and around 2,800 people were displaced in May. A total of 8,400 people who have fled since January 2021 remain displaced. In Kachin State, there has been no new displacement during the reporting period, despite the active armed conflict between the MAF and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA); about 8,500 people who fled insecurity since mid-March remain displaced. No new population displacement has been reported in Rakhine State. Cases of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) are reported in IDP camps in Mrauk-U, Paukaw and Sittwe townships. Humanitarian response remains severely constrained in all conflict-affected areas due to insecurity, banking disruptions, road blockages and pre-existing access challenges. Myanmar Humanitarian Fund First Standard Allocation of US$10 million launched on 13 May has been amended with an additional $0.35 million to scale up response in Chin State. A total of US$40.2 million has been mobilized under the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan, which seeks $276.5 million to address the needs of around 1 million people in conflict-affected areas. This represents less than 15 per cent of the funds required. KEY FIGURES 85.9K people internally displaced in the South-east due to clashes and insecurity in 2021 15K people internally displaced in northern Shan due to armed clashes in 2021 10K people internally displaced in Kachin State due to armed clashes in 2021 10K people hosted in sites in Chin State and Magway Region due to hostilities in Mindat in May SITUATION OVERVIEW UPSURGE IN DISPLACEMENT IN THE SOUTH-EAST: Around 46,000 people were displaced in the southeastern part of the country between April and May, according to data obtained by UNHCR from various sources. This includes the displacement of an estimated 37,000 persons across 57 locations in Kayah State where violence had erupted in late May between the MAF and the Karenni Army, the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party, as well as the Karenni People’s Defense Force, an armed group formed by civilian resistance fighters. There have been additional displacements, mainly in Kayin State due to insecurity and the clashes between the Karen National Liberation Army and the MAF. Around 45,000 people are currently internally displaced in Kayin State. The majority of them are hiding in jungles with some 8,000 sheltering in caves along Salween River at the border with Thailand. A further 3,900 people remain displaced in Mon State and Bago Region since February. This makes 85,900 the total number of people who have been internally displaced in the region due to armed clashes as well as insecurity as of 24 May. The internal displacement comes in addition to cross-border movement that remains fluid. Around 7,000 people from Kayin State have crossed the border to seek safety in Thailand since late March and some 1,000 remain in temporary areas in Mae Hong Son Province in Thailand as of 23 May, according to UNHCR. Humanitarian needs include food, shelter and access to hygiene and sanitation facilities. Additionally, there have been reports of cases of water-borne diseases among the displaced population in the jungle as result of extended lack of access to hygiene and sanitation facilities compounded by the early arrival of the rainy season. Local sources warn of a looming food security crisis if people are unable to return to their villages of origin to tend to their crops and livestock. Humanitarian partners are doing their best to respond to these needs, both within Myanmar and across the border. For example, in Kayah State, partners provided food and basic households items, child protection and health interventions to a small number of IDPs. However, access restrictions due to insecurity, road blockages, remote terrain, landmine contamination and other bureaucratic impediments continue to impede programme delivery across Kayah and elsewhere. INCREASING HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN CHIN STATE: Thousands of people have been displaced following an escalation of violence between the MAF and the Chinland Defense Forces (CDF) in and around the town of Mindat in Chin State on 12 May. The MAF deployed heavy artillery, military helicopters and snipers to the area, and despite the reported retreat of the CDF the following day, the MAF reportedly continued its attacks, including against civilian areas and infrastructure in the town of Mindat, which is home to about 25,000 people (2014 data). Over 9,000 IDPs are currently hosted in 16 sites, mainly in churches and monasteries, in and around Mindat and 7 sites in Saw in Magway Region. Thousands more had reportedly fled to nearby forests and mountains in search of safety and protection. There are also reports of civilian casualties, damage to and occupation of civilian infrastructure, incidents of the MAF using civilians as human shields and alleged cases of sexual assault against women and girls. Clashes also occurred between the MAF and the CDF in Loklung Village near the capital city of Hakkha on 18 May. This has led to the displacement of around 1,000 people to neighboring villages, according to local partners. The displaced population and those who remain in town are in urgent need of food, water, medicine, shelter and protection services, such as gender-based violence and psychological support. Local communities and religious institutions are making efforts to provide humanitarian assistance; however, this is not reaching everyone in need. Access restrictions, including due to road blockages and insecurity, are complicating the efforts to verify the reports of displacement, casualties and other incidents, as well as assess needs and respond. The Myanmar Humanitarian Fund (MHF) is supporting an operational partner in Chin State to scale up response, by topping up with an additional funding an existing humanitarian programme. MORE PEOPLE DISPLACED IN NORTHERN SHAN: Population movement remains fluid in northern areas of Shan State with new displacements and small-scale returns reported on a regular basis. In Hsipaw Township, around 2,510 people fled from their homes to safe areas due to hostilities between the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army and the allied forces of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army on 18 May. Small-scale population movements were also reported in Nawnghkio and Namtu townships and over the course of May, 2,800 people were internally displaced due to various clashes. A total of 15,151 people have been internally displaced in northern Shan since the start of 2021. While almost half of them returned to their places of origin within weeks, some 8,400 people remain displaced in 34 sites in Hsipaw, Kyaukme, Momeik, Namtu, Namhkan and Nawghkio townships. The IDPs are unable to return due to damage to their property and livelihoods as well as insecurity and risks from landmine contamination. Humanitarian partners organized three missions to the displacement sites and protracted IDP camps over the course of May to assess people’s needs and strengthen response coordination. Despite some assistance provided by host communities and local partners, the needs of families newly displaced remain largely unmet. The IDPs currently require temporary shelter, food, basic household materials, including mosquito nets, blankets, and mats, as well as access to water and sanitation facilities. NO NEW DISPLACEMENT IN KACHIN DESPITE INSECURITY: There has been no new population displacement in Kachin during the reporting period. Close to 10,000 people have been displaced across Kachin State following the resumption of clashes in mid-March. While many have returned to their places of origin since then, over 8,500 people remain displaced in Bhamo, Hpakant, Injanyang, Momauk, Myitkyina, Sadung, Shwegu and Waingmaw townships. Local communities and operational partners are responding to the needs of newly displaced people; however, access challenges and insecurity are complicating these efforts. The security situation remains volatile in Kachin State, with regular armed clashes between the MAF and the KIA in several townships and general insecurity across the state. Hostilities were reported across as many as 13 townships; however, clashes were intense in Momauk Township in particular, where fighting around the Ah Law Bum mountain area, currently controlled by the KIA continues unabated, with reports of aerial strikes by the MAF and artillery shelling by both sides. Since March, over 100 armed engagements were reported across Kachin. According to public sources, 11 civilians were killed and 22 others injured between 11 March and 12 May. The details of these incidents could not be verified at the time of reporting due to access challenges. ACUTE WATERY DIARRHEA IN CENTRAL RAKHINE: AWD cases were reported in IDP camps in MraukU, Pauktaw and Sittwe townships with majority of cases affecting children under five. Based on available information, the cases were reported to be highest during the week of 3 May, with 1,200 cases, and majority reported from six IDP camps. Over 2,000 cases of AWD have so far been reported as of 25 May. The situation has started to stabilize as the number of cases started to go down since 16 May, following robust response by operational partners who are coordination with relevant entities to scale up awareness raising efforts of good hygiene, testing of water quality, chlorination of the boreholes, and cleaning of solid waste and disinfection of latrines. Disease surveillance is ongoing and operational hours of mobile clinics have been extended in certain camps with larger caseloads. Case investigation and laboratory sample collection were also conducted with relevant entities and findings were directly shared to frontline health partners for appropriate clinical management. NO NEW DIPLACEMENT IN RAKHINE: There has not been any new clashes between the MAF and the AA since November 2020 and no new displacement has been reported. Some small-scale returns among IDPs continue to take place in a number of townships. Close to 82,000 people remain displaced at 147 sites and 27 host communities in 10 townships across Rakhine State. This is in addition to 126,000 IDPs hosted in protracted camps established in 2012..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-05-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-28
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Sub-title: Fighting in recent weeks has displaced some 45,000 civilians in Chin and Kachin states.
Description: "At least 10 military junta troops were killed and around 20 critically wounded in five clashes over the last two days in Myanmar’s Chin state, militia groups said Thursday, while tens of thousands of civilians have fled and are living in dire conditions as fighting has intensified in the region. Four of the engagements took place in Chin’s Hakha township, killing and injuring regime soldiers, a Hakha-based Chin-land Defense Force (CDF) spokesman told RFA’s Myanmar Service. The first occurred when CDF forces entered Lot Klone village on May 18 and were fired on by the junta troops, while the second took place the following morning, when a CDF unit ambushed soldiers on Matupi Road, killing seven, he said. “This morning [Thursday] we heard from sources close to the area that more than 10 troops were killed and more than 20 injured,” the spokesman said. Additionally, the CDF reported, a clash took place at a security checkpoint near Hakha University on May 18 and another near the intersection of Hakha Thar 6 and Hakha-Gangaw Roads the same day. On the evening of May 19, the military set fire to more than 30 motorbikes owned by Hakha CDF members, the group said, although no casualties were suffered. In Chin’s nearby Mindat township, the Mindat People’s Administration (MPA) militia said it engaged with regime troops on May 19 between mile markers 40 and 50 on Mindat-Matupi Road, killing three junta soldiers, including a sergeant. As of Thursday, the military had yet to confirm details of any of the clashes in Chin state, where soldiers are battling volunteer militias wielding mostly home-made weapons more than three months after it overthrew the country’s elected government in a Feb. 1 coup and reinstated junta rule. Za Op Ling, deputy executive director of the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), told RFA that more than 35,000 civilians from Chin state have fled their homes since the attack on Lot Klone village—15,000 of whom have crossed Myanmar’s border into India’s Mizoram state. “Whenever there is a clash, the soldiers later search every house and make arrests,” he said. “Their main target is young people, so all the youths have fled to nearby villages. Some escaped to the Indian border. All this happened mostly in Mindat and at least 8,000 people have fled from the township alone.” Za Op Ling said that local authorities in Mizoram state have asked India’s central government to provide assistance to the refugees from Myanmar. A resident of Mindat confirmed that the township is nearly deserted after the military “opened fire with heavy artillery,” killing several residents. “In this kind of situation, it isn’t possible for people to live in the town. It’s not safe to stay at home at all,” she said. “People just fled to nearby forests or villages. The young people from our village have helped some of the refugees. Now there are only some elderly people left in the town, most of whom are trapped.” Around 3,000 people taking shelter in four villages in Mindat township are currently facing food shortages due to logistical difficulties and with water and power cut off, according to a local aid worker. A member of the Mindat CDF, which is helping the refugees, said the group plans to ask the United Nations refugee agency for help in distributing food and other necessities. A spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General said in a statement on Tuesday that that the UN Office for Human Rights is investigating reports of arbitrary detentions, including the killing of six people in Mindat over the weekend. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said at least 797 civilians, including dozens of children, have been killed by security forces since the latest military coup, while more than a thousand civilians have been injured. The fighting in Mindat over the weekend prompted Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) on Thursday to condemn the military’s blocking of humanitarian and medical aid and access to clean water. “The reports out of Mindat … expose the horrifying reality of ongoing violence against tens of thousands of civilians in Mindat by the Myanmar military,” the group said. “These actions further echo the unconscionable actions and severe breaches of international human rights law perpetrated by the Tatmadaw since the group seized power in a February 1 coup d’etat,” it said, using the Burmese name for the military. “Physicians for Human Rights is appalled by the Myanmar military’s unlawful implementation of martial law in Mindat, who has pushed civilians into Mindat’s surrounding jungles to escape detention, and the reported obstruction in access to clean drinking water.” The group noted that the fighting has left women and children in Mindat vulnerable to tactics of war it said the military regularly employs, including sexual and gender-based violence.....Kachin state refugees: In Kachin state, where junta troops have also been fighting the veteran ethnic Kachin Independence Army (KIA) since clashes broke out between the two sides on April 10, residents told RFA that the military has launched more than 30 airstrikes in the area over the past 40 days. The two sides have engaged in some 90 engagements in Kachin state’s Momauk township alone, prompting more than 10,000 people to flee from 20 villages. More than 3,000 have arrived in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), while the remainder are in hiding in forests near their homes, hoping to remain able to harvest their crops. A woman refugee from Momauk’s Sihak village told RFA her family had lost nearly everything in the fighting. “The three or four houses in front of ours were razed to the ground during the clashes,” she said. “The owners have nowhere to live and have fled.” A resident of Momauk’s Kone Law village said that clashes intensified just as farmers were preparing to harvest peanuts, and many crops were damaged. “We should have been harvesting then, but now, the harvest time has passed, and the ground has become very hard,” he said. “It’s very difficult to pull out the plants. We had to hire more people, but we still can’t get it done because the soil has hardened. There are a lot of people who dare not go to the fields because the soldiers are too close.” Civil society groups are attempting to provide food, shelter and medicine to Momauk, but refugees told RFA that the military is blocking them from doing so and confiscating the goods. Residents also complained that soldiers regularly plant landmines in area fields that kill essential cattle, but then demand compensation from farmers for “destroying their weapons.” A civil society worker who is assisting refugees in Momauk told RFA there are still not enough camps for those who have fled the fighting. “Even monasteries that used to take in refugees are full, so many people lack shelter because there is no place for them to live,” he said. “We are now trying to find ways to set up a new camp in a convenient location with the help of U.N. agencies, but it is difficult because of the rising number of refugees.” While the most intense fighting between the military and KIA has taken place in Momauk, clashes have also occurred in several other townships in Kachin state, including Laiza, Hpakant, Mohnyin, Mogaung, Tanaing, Bhamo, Putao, Mansi and Myitkyina.....Inter-ethnic conflicts: In addition to clashes with the military regime, Myanmar’s myriad ethnic armies have continued to fight amongst themselves in the pursuit of new territory, further exacerbating the country’s refugee crisis. Clashes between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the combined forces of the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) broke out near Manli village in northern Shan state’s Namtu township in April. More than 2,000 residents of Namtu’s Panlong, Chaungsa and Manli villages, have since fled to the nearby town centers of Hsipaw and Namtu. Additionally, clashes between the SSPP/SSA-N and RCSS on May 19 prompted another 1,000 villagers to flee Hsipaw’s Wan Sein village, bring the total number of IDPs in the area to around 3,000. The SSPP/SSA-N and TNLA have called on the RCSS to withdraw their troops back to their home base in southern Shan state to ease fighting in the northern part of the region. Fighting between the RCSS and the TNLA intensified between 2015 and the end of 2017 in northern Shan state and in April 2018, the TNLA began joint operations with the SSPP/SSA-N in Namtu township. According to the SSPP/SSA-N, talks between the two Shan ethnic armies have yielded little progress..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
2021-05-20
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: KIA, Kachin Independence Army, Myanmar military, Kachin State
Sub-title: The Myanmar military launches air attacks on Kachin and Karen villages after losing strategic bases to ethnic armed organisations
Topic: KIA, Kachin Independence Army, Myanmar military, Kachin State
Description: "The Myanmar military continued to launch lethal air attacks on villages in Kachin State’s Momauk Township after one of its helicopters was shot down by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on Monday. KIA spokesperson Col Naw Bu told Myanmar Now that Kachin forces shot and destroyed a junta helicopter between the villages of Myo Thit and Kone Law in Momauk at around 8am. “We shot it down during a battle. Fighter jets also came to the area,” Col Naw Bu said. “The battles are not on the ground—the military are launching airstrikes and using sophisticated weapons.” After losing the helicopter, the regime’s armed forces continued its air attacks on Myo Thit, Kone Law and Si Hat villages, he added. A 60-year-old man and a Buddhist monk, whose age was not known at the time of reporting, were killed in the strikes, local media reported. At least 10 villagers were injured, according to the Kachinwaves news outlet. Fighting has intensified between the KIA and the military’s 77th Light Infantry Division in Momauk in recent days. A battle on April 29 killed 20 regime soldiers and led to a KIA seizure of junta weaponry, according to a KIA source. The clash took place below Alaw Bum, a strategically important hill base that the KIA seized on March 25. The Tatmadaw has launched numerous air and ground attacks in a bid to reclaim it but has suffered heavy losses. At the time of reporting, Alaw Bum was still in KIA hands. The Myanmar military has also launched around 30 airstrikes since late March in Mutraw (Hpapun) District, Karen State. The territory is controlled by the 5th Brigade of the Karen National Union’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). The airstrikes and heavy artillery fire, largely aimed at civilian targets, had driven more than 3,000 people to seek refuge across the border in Thailand as of Saturday, according to the Karen Peace Support Network. The most recent round of regime air attacks followed the KNLA’s seizure of a junta base in the Thaw Le Hta area of Mutraw, across the Salween River from Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province, on April 27. Many of the airstrikes have taken place near the Ei Htu Hta internally displaced people’s camp near the Salween River, forcing the camp’s population of more than 2,000 into hiding. Many are among the recent refugees in Thailand. More displaced villagers from Karen State are expected to flee to Thailand if the regime’s airstrikes continue..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Fresh clashes between Myanmar security forces and regional armed groups have displaced thousands across the country, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
Description: "According to the Office, almost 50 clashes between the military and the Kachin Independence Army were reported in several places in Kachin state, including use of airstrikes by security forces as well as mortar shelling by both sides, displacing nearly 5,000 people and damaging several homes. “Around 800 people returned to their villages of origin within a few days and an estimated 4,000 people remain displaced in various sites, including in churches and monasteries”, OCHA said in a humanitarian bulletin. This was the first reported displacement in the country’s northernmost state since September 2018. Kachin had been hosting about 95,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in long-term camps since 2011. “Humanitarians and local host communities are doing their best to provide emergency assistance to the newly displaced people, despite the operational challenges and insecurity”, OCHA added. In neighboring Northern Shan state, escalating clashes since January forced about 10,900 people to flee their homes, of whom nearly 4,000 remain displaced, the Office added, noting that hostilities had also increased since February in Kayin and Bago states, displacing almost 40,000 people. About 3,000 people, mostly from Kayin, reportedly crossed the border into Thailand. The majority are said to have since returned. Funds needed for assistance Apart from the ongoing political strife in the aftermath of the military takeover on 1 February, nearly a million people across Myanmar, over two-thirds of them women and children, identified at the start of 2021, are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. UN and humanitarian partners launched a $276 million response plan to assist nearly 950,000 people through 2021. However, into the last week of April, only 12 per cent or $32 million of the amount needed has been received. Rising hunger and desperation There are also fears of a sharp rise in hunger and desperation across Myanmar due to the triple impact of pre-existing poverty, the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing political crisis. Estimates by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) indicate that up to 3.4 million people – particularly those in urban centres – would be hit by high levels of food insecurity over the next six months. Already, there are signs of families in and around Yangon being pushed to the edge, skipping meals, eating less nutritious food and going into debt, just to survive, the agency said last week, as it mounted a new food assistance programme to help the most vulnerable. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), meanwhile, warned that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, almost a third of the country’s children were living in poor households. “In the current crisis, the situation has worsened. UNICEF is working to support the most vulnerable children and families across Myanmar, ensuring their access to lifesaving services”, the agency said on Monday..."
Source/publisher: UN News
2021-04-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Explosive Weapons in Civilian Areas , Landmines , Internally Displaced People
Sub-title: Statement of Manny Maung, Myanmar Researcher, Human Rights Watch Subcommittee on International Human Rights Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development
Topic: Explosive Weapons in Civilian Areas , Landmines , Internally Displaced People
Description: "Study of the Impacts of Covid-19 on Internally Displaced People in Myanmar Thank you to the Chairperson and Honorable Members of Parliament for inviting me to appear before this Committee to discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on internally displaced people in Myanmar. My name is Manny Maung and I am the Myanmar Researcher for Human Rights Watch. Decades of conflict have resulted in over 360,000 internally displaced peoples across the country. They are mainly members of ethnic minority communities spread across northern Myanmar, in Kachin and Shan States; in western Rakhine State; and in the southeast near the Myanmar-Thai border. Renewed conflict has created fresh displacements in 2020 in both Rakhine and Shan States. Humanitarian agencies reported that the government did not take measures to ensure that they could deliver emergency aid under the government-imposed travel restrictions to protect against the spread of Covid-19. In October, Human Rights Watch released a report, “An Open Prison without End,” on Myanmar’s detention of 130,000 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State since 2012.[1] Human Rights Watch found that the squalid and oppressive conditions imposed on the interned Rohingya and Kaman Muslims amount to the crimes against humanity of persecution, apartheid, and severe deprivation of liberty. Starting in August 2017, a military campaign of killings, sexual violence, arson, and forced eviction of Rohingya in northern Rakhine State forced more than 700,000 to flee to Bangladesh. Human Rights Watch determined the Myanmar security forces committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
2020-12-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The UN in Myanmar has come together as one to support COVID-19 preparedness and response. The next in a series of articles highlights UNODC's contribution. UNODC provided guidance on how to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Kachin State, Myanmar. The guidance is aimed at parents and caregivers on how to keep their children safe and healthy. In crowded conditions, such as one found in IDP camps, protecting children’s health is difficult at the best of times. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, raising a family has become even more challenging. To provide support to parents and caregivers, UNODC has provided 10,000 leaflets to families in IDP camps across Kachin State, providing guidance on how to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. UNODC also provided an interactive workshop to local NGOs and camp service providers, so they can also meaningfully support IDP’s health and wellbeing. "We’ve seen that quite a number of parents were using alcohol and illegal drugs to cope with their stress. Due to the increased pressure they’ve faced during the pandemic, they may not be parenting as effectively as they normally do.” said Naw Bawk, Health Poverty Action’s Community Mobilization Team Leader, one of the local NGOs distributing the leaflets. “These leaflets will be very useful for parents to cope with their stress in a better way." The leaflets, “Information for Parents and other Caregivers in Crowded Communities or Refugee Settings during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” provide straightforward and actionable advice to parents living in Kachin’s IDP camps. They cover an overview of how parents can reduce their children’s potential exposure to COVID-19, and how to manage children’s stress under lockdowns and curfews. The leaflets also touch on the mental health of parents..."
Source/publisher: UNCT Myanmar via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2020-07-06
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: " In Myanmar, an estimated 350,000 internally displaced persons living in crowded and sometimes unsanitary conditions face the danger of a widespread outbreak of COVID-19. Access to food, aid and information has become increasingly difficult as travel restrictions and lockdowns increase. In Kachin state, camps formed since 2011, when fighting resumed between the Myanmar forces and the Kachin Independence Army after a 17-year cease-fire was broken, are feeling the impact. In the Myanmar government-controlled capital of Myitkyina, long-time residents who depend on casual labor earnings say they have more to worry about than the virus itself. ”We aren’t afraid to get the virus COVID-19 because the most important and dangerous thing for us is having the money needed for our family’s food supply,” says Naw Ja Pee, a Jaw Masat IDP camp resident. “If we are shut out of food, we will all die,” she adds. The camps surrounding the Kachin capital have been locked down since April 8. Those who return to the camp from China and elsewhere are quarantined for 14 days and their vehicles are sprayed with disinfectants..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "VOA" (Washington, D.C)
2020-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Strategic competition between Tokyo and Beijing moves into a new realm
Description: "The Japanese government announced in late December that it will launch an aid program to help internally displaced people in a conflict zone in Myanmar's northern state of Kachin to return home. China has strong influence in northern Myanmar, including Kachin. Countrywide, Japan and China are tussling for diplomatic sway by helping with various infrastructure projects. Their rivalry is now spilling over into Myanmar's sensitive internal ethnic conflicts. The Japanese program aims to assist people displaced by Kachin's decadeslong ethnic conflict, and is due to begin in the first half of 2020. The Japanese government, together with the nonprofit Nippon Foundation, will contribute $5 million to help 3,000 people return to their villages who were forced to flee due to fighting between Myanmar troops and the rebel Kachin Independent Army..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
2020-01-01
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Fearful for their safety, many of the 241,000 people forced from their homes by conflict in Myanmar are reluctant to go back. Now campaigners are mobilising to resist organised returns Bawk Nu Awng hasn’t been home since 2011. All three of the villages where she spent her childhood have been destroyed. “War hit wherever my family lived,” she said. “I feel like it is my responsibility to engage in all matters related to peace.” Now aged 21, Bawk Nu Awng, from Kachin in Myanmar, has emerged as a spokesperson among youth displaced by conflict. When Aung San Suu Kyi took power in 2016, her party, the National League for Democracy, pledged to prioritise ending conflict in Myanmar. Yet the country’s various ethnic groups continue to fight for increased federal autonomy. In Rakhine state, conflict is escalating between Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, and the rebel Arakan Army. Nationwide, an estimated 241,000 people like Bawk Nu Awng remain in camps, including more than 97,000 in Kachin state. Camps for internally displaced people are the most visible evidence of Myanmar’s ongoing strife. With elections coming up next year, political momentum to send displaced people home has accelerated. Kachin, which shares a border with China’s Yunnan province, is a strategic area for China’s belt and road initiative, a global development strategy that includes a multi-billion pound China-Myanmar economic corridor. In March, Yunnan officials met with the influential Kachin Baptist Convention; support for returns and a peace agreement was encouraged, with the Chinese contingent suggesting stability could bring investment and development..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
2019-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: Concerns intensify as Chinese apply pressure to have controversial megaproject restarted
Description: "Kachin villagers displaced by the construction of the suspended Myitsone Dam have called on the government to permanently halt the China-backed project. Bernadette Ja Hkawng was forced to make way for the megaproject and leave her Tangphre village and relocate elsewhere in 2010. She was one of at least 3,000 people relocated from their ancestral homes for the dam’s construction. Following protests and widespread environmental concerns, the military-backed government of President Thein Sein suspended dam construction in September 2011. Ja Hkawng told ucanews.com that she is now fearful the controversial project will be restarted due to Chinese pressure on the government. Ja Hkawng, a Catholic, said she was concerned by a recent Chinese embassy statement that said local people are not against the project built on the Irrawaddy River. She said the Chinese were ignoring the cultural and environmental concerns of the people in Kachin State. “The Irrawaddy River is the main river in the country and it is like a main blood lifeline, so all people across Myanmar have a duty to protect it,” Ja Hkawng said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "UCAnews"
2019-01-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: The return of conflict-displaced families to a Kachin State village, managed by the Tatmadaw without the input of the Kachin Independence Organisation, has deepened mistrust between the two sides of the conflict and may have endangered lives.
Description: "EIGHT YEARS after conflict in northern Myanmar resumed between the Tatmadaw and Kachin Independence Army, the Myanmar government and military have begun initiatives to return or resettle some of the more than 100,000 people displaced by the fighting. These activities, which include a national strategy for the closure of camps for internally displaced persons, or IDPs, have taken place in parallel to renewed peace negotiations with the Kachin Independence Organisation, the KIA’s political wing, aimed at securing a bilateral ceasefire. The government and the Kachin Humanitarian Concern Committee – a body that includes Kachin humanitarian and religious leaders, as well as two members of the KIO’s IDP committee – have also discussed potential cooperation on the resettlement process. After informal talks in February, the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre and KHCC met in Nay Pyi Taw in April to discuss the safe and dignified return and resettlement of IDPs, expanding humanitarian assistance to IDPs and pathways to closing the IDP camps. The inability of the KIO and the Tatmadaw to reach a bilateral ceasefire agreement has limited progress. The exception is one village in Waingmaw Township, where the Tatmadaw has overseen the return of around 200 people from camps in Myitkyina, Waingmaw and Bhamo townships..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "The Kachin of northern Burma are beleaguered, desperately in need of aid and vulnerable to attack. The Burma Army has conducted military offensives against civilian populations and forced more than 100,000 Kachin to flee since 2011, becoming internally displaced people (IDPs) in their historic lands. The displaced reside in camps and the jungle in various levels of deprivation, fearful of the army’s return. They call out for help, and during FBR’s September 2018 humanitarian relief mission the villagers all said the same thing: “We don’t want to run. We need peace in our Kachin land.” Lawa, the FBR team leader, coordinated with state government officials and camp leaders to locate vulnerable IDPs that the team could impact the most. Several camps were identified in the Putao District jungle in northern Kachin State, where over 900 IDPs struggle to access basic goods as they are located far from supplies, medical care and Kachin State government assistance, yet within Burma Army-controlled territory and the military’s reach..."
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers
2018-12-08
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The suffering of civilians and forced displacement of ethnic minorities by Myanmar?s military goes beyond the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in the west of the country. In northern Myanmar, nearly 100,000 people continue to live in displacement camps in Kachin and northern Shan States. Most were first displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army in 2011, and many have been displaced multiple times, including in recent months. Kachin Report Photo 3.jpg Approaching seven years of displacement and despite ongoing and often increasing needs, displaced persons in northern Myanmar face decreasing aid and protection services. Over the past two years, the Government of Myanmar has dramatically increased restrictions on delivery of aid to this displaced population at the same time that the overall amount of aid provided by international donors has decreased. Nearly half of this displaced population lives in areas controlled by ethnic armed groups, areas where the government now forbids any international aid delivery and denies virtually all access for the United Nations and international humanitarian groups. Even for the displaced persons living in camps in government-controlled areas, access to aid and services has dramatically decreased as the government levies increasingly onerous bureaucratic requirements, limiting access to international and local humanitarians alike. These restrictions heighten the risks of abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking, creating a serious protection crisis..."
Source/publisher: Refugees International
2017-12-10
Date of entry/update: 2018-03-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "This article explores some of the realities of supporting income generation for displaced people in conflict settings, drawing on experiences in Kachin, northern Myanmar, suggesting development and humanitarian actors need to better acknowledge limitations and rethink our approaches. Since the 2011 resumption of war between the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatamadaw), over 100,000 people continue to be displaced, predominantly from rural, agricultural settings, into urban-based camps with little to no access to land. Ongoing fighting and insecurity means returns home are largely impossible. Escalating armed conflict since mid 2016 and continuing today has displaced or re-displaced over 6,000 people in Kachin, stretching declining humanitarian resources further as needs increase. Speak with any displaced person and lack of income is one of their primary concerns. But options are limited, and vulnerable to outside shocks. In the shift from farming to urban settings, making an income is difficult, exacerbated by internally displaced persons? (IDPs) arrival creating labour market saturation. This can also create tension between host communities and IDPs, especially through labour market competition and contestation over resources, often as basic as firewood. The importance of income is about both the material benefit and improving social cohesion..."
Creator/author: Dustin Barter
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
2017-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2017-12-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Despite a number of peace talks having been conducted between the central government and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), there is no sign of the war ceasing in Kachin state. The ongoing armed conflict has been driving thousands of civilians out of their villages. Many IDPs are now living in church supported camps along with relief from international humanitarian agencies. IDPs living in crowded camps with limited support face various obstacles as they cannot practice their livelihood anymore. Women have always been the ones who share most part of family burden and face many issues including domestic violence. In this interview, Burma Link AOC (agent of change) talks to Pausa Kaw Nan (PSK), a 44-year-old Kachin woman, in one of the IDP camps in Bhamo, Kachin State."
Source/publisher: Burma Link
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Summary: ?As crony companies and foreign investment companies join with the government in large-scale projects, a new model of ?development” is unfolding across Burma. To make way for hydropower dams and mono-crop plantations, villagers have been forced into relocation camps, or so-called ?model villages.” The government and the companies state proudly in the media that the living standard of these relocated people has improved, but the reality is completely opposite. The housing in the relocation camps is sub-standard. There is no clean water for household use, insufficient drinking water, and inadequate education and health care. Having lost their lands and livelihoods, the relocated people are forced to find insecure and low-paid daily wage jobs to try and feed themselves. They are constantly worrying about their future, and how to provide for their children?s education. Women face increased risk of sexual harassment and assault by migrant laborers. In this situation, people do not feel like they are living in ?model villages.” They feel like they are living in refugee camps, full of wretchedness and difficulty... This short booklet presents the cases of three relocation camps in Kachin State: Sanpyar camp in Hugawng Valley, and Aung Myin Thar and Maliyang camps near the Irrawaddy Myitsone. It gives an insight into people?s lives before and after relocation... Mungchying Rawt Jat (MRJ) was set up in September 2012 by farmers directly affected by government development projects in Kachin State. The objectives of Mungchying Rawt Jat (MRJ): • Development of grassroots communities • Sustainable development. • Protection of natural resources • Ensuring local people?s participation in decision-making around development projects • Letting local people lead peaceful and secure lives...”
Source/publisher: Mungchying Rawt Jat (MRJ) via Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG)
2013-07-21
Date of entry/update: 2014-12-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ
Format : pdf
Size: 1.64 MB
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Description: Text, maps and photos
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
2012-11-05
Date of entry/update: 2012-11-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 645.68 KB
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Description: "About 60,000 Kachin villagers fleeing Burma Army attacks and persecution, who are sheltering in Kachin-controlled territory along the China-Burma border, have received almost no international aid since conflict broke out in June 2011. Data compiled from local relief groups shows that international aid agencies, including the UN, have provided only 4% of basic food needs of this displaced population, who have been kept alive almost entirely by private donations from local and overseas compatriots. Over 2 million US dollars are needed a month for food. Lack of official access and fears of aid diversion have been cited by international donors as reasons for not responding to the crisis. However, well-established mechanisms exist to deliver aid accountably through local community-based organizations. Escalating conflict has caused numbers of displaced to triple over the past year, creating an untenable burden for local communities. International donors must immediately step in to coordinate a large-scale relief effort to address the needs of these displaced Kachin..."
Source/publisher: Kachin Women?s Association Thailand (KWAT)
2012-10-02
Date of entry/update: 2012-10-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 412.45 KB
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Description: Executive Summary: "Instability that started in June 2011 across Kachin and northern Shan states has resulted in displace‐ ment, damage of infrastructure and loss of lives and livelihoods. Despite ongoing peace negotiations be‐ tween parties to the conflict, incidents continue to be reported. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the conflict to an estimated 65,000 IDPs in July 2012. These people sought refuge in camps, in pub‐ lic buildings, with host families or in the forest. In addition, an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 persons have reportedly sought refuge in China. The numbers of IDPs continue to fluctuate and in some locations, a small number of IDPs temporarily returned to their villages to attempt savaging some of their liveli‐ hood, leaving some of their family members in camps or with relatives. Available information indi‐ cates that these returns are not permanent or sub‐ stantial in numbers, as IDPs continue to be con‐ cerned over ongoing tensions and instability as well as presence of landmines...In an effort to improve the level of assistance and co‐ ordination, local and international partners undertook an analysis of the situation in November 2011 and identified scenarios for the coming six months, against which sectoral plans and priorities were identified. The plan was revised in February 2012, and again in June 2012 taking into account the rapidly changing situa‐ tion, protracted displacement and ongoing discussions around return planning. The revised planning document includes an analysis of the assistance provided to date, of the scenario in the coming year (March 2012‐February 2013), and a re‐ view of sectoral requirements, including those to cater for existing gaps and expected need for additional re‐ sources for the provision of life‐saving relief assistance as well as to support pockets of return for a total of up to 85,000 people affected by the ongoing instability. This follows the steady increase in the numbers of IDPs across Kachin and Northern Shan States, partly in re‐ sponse to ongoing incidents and insecurity in these areas. It also takes into consideration the additional needs caused by the monsoon rains. Partners estimated that relief assistance would be re‐ quired even if the situation was to normalize in the coming months, as most of the IDPs lost their posses‐ sions, their sources of livelihood, the planting season and social services would take some time to become fully functional again. In addition, the monsoon season has an adverse impact on the already challenging shel‐ ter and WASH conditions in the IDP locations, as well as on the logistical situation. Road conditions are con‐ tinuously deteriorating due to the heavy rains, making the provision of assistance all the more important. In line with the previous version of the document de‐ veloped in March 2012, the plan concentrates on the immediate relief requirements for one year (March 2012‐February 2013). The requirements articulated in the plan include remaining needs of up to 85,000 people either currently displaced or likely be dis‐ placed in the months to come. Humanitarian part‐ ners predict that a total of US$35.8 million are re‐ quired to cover the humanitarian needs for the pe‐ riod of March 2012 to February 2013. Priorities for sectoral interventions include:..."
Source/publisher: UN OCHA
2012-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: By District, Camp; population figures by by age and gender
Source/publisher: Social Affairs Ministry office, KSG
2012-08-31
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 54.99 KB
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Description: KEY DEVELOPMENTS: * The Burma Army continued attacks against the Kachin people and every day there is shelling from attacking Burma Army units. There has been no ceasefire by the Burma Army troops in this area. * There are over 30,000 displaced Kachin villagers now in hiding.
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
2011-12-16
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: KEY DEVELOPMENTS: * The Burma Army is currently attacking within six miles of Mai Ja Yang, a city in Kachin State that is a refuge for over 1,000 displaced people * The Burma Army is firing an average of 100 mortar rounds per day into this area and is receiving reinforcements. * Over 40,000 Kachin people now displaced by attacks and more are preparing to run
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
2012-01-22
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Burma Army has killed a villager and over 20 villages have fled attacks and mortar fire in Momauk Township, Kachin State. Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 73 under Division 88 has been attacking villages, with troops from Divisions 33, 44, 66 also entering the area. At least 400 Burma Army soldiers have been involved in the attacks, using 120mm and 60mm mortars and machine guns. Fighting in the area has increased and the Burma Army is building at least four new camps, using forced labor. Over 3,000 people have been displaced."
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
2011-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The Burma Army continues to attack people in three townships of Ba Maw District, Kachin State: Mun Si Township, Shwegu Township and Ba Maw Township. On 16 December 2011, Burma Army soldiers killed a woman from Prang Kawng Village. The woman, 30-year-old Lamung Kaw Seng, suffered from a mental disability. As Burma Army troops approached the village, all the villagers fled except for Lamung Kaw Seng. When the soldiers found her, they killed her and threw her into a toilet pit.
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
2011-12-27
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: KEY DEVELOPMENTS: "Burma Army fighting continues in Kachin State since the original outbreak of violence on 9 June 2011, when Burma Army soldiers broke the ceasefire previously held with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). As Burma Army attacks continue, the KIA attempts to defend the population and numerous clashes have occurred between Burma Army and KIA soldiers. Burma Army soldiers have also repeatedly attacked civilian villages, often occupying and looting the village afterwards and forcing villagers to flee. Free Burma Ranger teams have collected multiple reports of extrajudicial killing, imprisonment and torture. There are over 50,000 Internally Displaced People in camps on the border, with thousands more hiding in the jungle."
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
2012-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: KEY DEVELOPMENTS: "While ceasefire negotiations are taking place in some ethnic areas, attacks continue in Kachin State, Northern Burma. The Burma Army is pressing its attacks in Kachin State with over 100 battalions deployed. There are over 50,000 Kachin people displaced, over 60 Kachin civilians killed and 100 Kachin soldiers killed. Burma Army casualties are unknown, but estimated at 1,000 wounded and killed. Along with the KIO, WPN, Partners and other organizations, the Kachin FBR teams are helping those in need"
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
2012-06-01
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Burmese troops burned down around 50 homes in a village in eastern Kachin state two days ago as they prepare for an offensive against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), despite assertions from fleeing residents that no rebels inhabit the village. In response, the KIA has told locals living in areas close to the town of Waingmaw to leave, prompting some 3,000 people to join those who fled the razed Aungja village as they make for the border with China. A DVB reporter in Kachin state said that Burmese army battalions were closing in on the KIA?s Brigade 3 in Sanpai, which was being fiercely defended by the rebels..."
Source/publisher: Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
2011-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2012-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ?"Welcome to our new Kachin townships," the camp administrator said sarcastically as he guided us down the muddy path leading to one of the dozens of refugee camps scattered through Kachin, the thin sliver of land which forms Burma?s northernmost region. Makeshift shelters constructed from canvas and bamboo are now home for thousands of internally displaced people. The United Nations refugee agency say there are more than 50,000 displaced people here, the Kachin put the figure much higher..."
Creator/author: Sue Lloyd Roberts
Source/publisher: BBC Newsnight
2012-04-02
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ?When Burmese President Thein Sein took office in March 2011, he said that over 60 years of armed conflict have put Burma?s ethnic populations through ?the hell of untold miseries.? Just three months later, the Burmese armed forces resumed military operations against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), leading to serious abuses and a humanitarian crisis affecting tens of thousands of ethnic Kachin civilians. ?Untold Miseries?: Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Kachin State is based on over 100 interviews in Burma?s Kachin State and China?s Yunnan province. It details how the Burmese army has killed and tortured civilians, raped women, planted antipersonnel landmines, and used forced labor on the front lines, including children as young as 14-years-old. Soldiers have attacked villages, razed homes, and pillaged properties. Burmese authorities have failed to authorize a serious relief effort in KIA-controlled areas, where most of the 75,000 displaced men, women, and children have sought refuge. The KIA has also been responsible for serious abuses, including using child soldiers and antipersonnel landmines. Human Rights Watch calls on the Burmese government to support an independent international mechanism to investigate violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by all parties to Burma?s ethnic armed conflicts. The government should also provide United Nations and humanitarian agencies unhindered access to all internally displaced populations, and make a long-term commitment with humanitarian agencies to authorize relief to populations in need.?
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
2012-03-19
Date of entry/update: 2012-03-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.72 MB
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Description: "...Between June 2011 and February 2012, instability across Kachin and northern Shan states resulted in displacement, damage of infrastructure and loss of lives and livelihoods. Despite ongoing peace negotiation between parties to the conflict, incidents continue to be reported. Additionally, there are indications that a number of people fled just across the Myanmar-China border and live with relatives or in temporary makeshift camps, but information is still unclear and cannot be independently verified. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) steadily increased from September 2011 (approx 20,000 people) to an estimated 50-55,000 people at present. These people sought refuge in camps, in public buildings, in host families or in the jungle. The numbers of IDPs continue to fluctuate and in some locations, some IDPs temporarily return to their villages to attempt salvaging some of their livelihood, leaving some of their family members in camps or with relatives. Available information indicates that these returns are not permanent or substantial in numbers, as IDPs continue to be concerned over ongoing tensions and instability as well as presence of landmines. Whilst the Kachin State Government started a planning exercise encompassing return and recovery operations, the Union Government and the Kachin State Government have clearly stated that only those who wish to return should do so, and that assistance in camps must continue. The State Government indicated relief aid and recovery operations will require support from the aid community well into 2013. Whilst partners are able to provide a wide range of assistance to some 19,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) located in fully accessible towns of Myitkyina, Waingmaw, Bhamo, Mansi, Momauk, Putao and Shwegu, some (mostly local) partners do have some degree of access to population in other locations. Limited ability for a wide range of partners to reach all those in need resulted in further suffering, as gaps and inequality in assistance is a fact of life for a significant portion of the affected people..."
Source/publisher: UN OCHA
2012-03-12
Date of entry/update: 2012-03-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 594.96 KB
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Description: CURRENT SITUATION: "Instability in Kachin and Shan States restarted in early June 2011 and resulted in the displacement of populations, loss of lives and livelihoods and dam-ages to infrastructure. Following a Government invi-tation, an inter-agency rapid needs assessment was conducted from 20-26 September in 39 locations in some IDPs sites (camps, host families, public build-ings) of five townships (Bhamo, Momauk, Myitky-ina, Khaunglanhpu and Waingmaw) targeting 5,925 IDPs. Two townships Mansi and Shwegu could not be assessed due to security concerns. Of the as-sessed beneficiaries, some 4% were vulnerable, be-sides there were 56% children under 18 years of age, 17% of children under 5 and 12.5% female or child headed IDP families. Although figures of displaced population continue to fluctuate and are reportedly increasing on a daily basis, it is currently estimated that between 35,000 and 40,000 IDPs may have left their homes and sought refuge in camps, with friends and relatives or into the forest across the affected region. As an indication of the rapidly increasing caseload, accord-ing to the Kachin State authorities, between Sep-tember and the end of November 2011, the number of IDPs living in Myitkyina, Waingmaw, Bhamo, Mansi, Momauk and Shwegu has increased from 5,900 to 10,000 IDPs. Across all affected areas, available –albeit not independently verified - infor-mation indicate that, in the same period, the num-ber of displaced passed from 20,000 to 35-40,000 persons..."
Source/publisher: UN OCHA
2011-12-13
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 765.05 KB
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Description: Key Developments: • Displacement and humanitarian needs continue to increase in Kachin State due to continued instability. A UN team visited Laiza in Kachin State and provided household family kits to IDPs... • Serious concern over southern Chin State Food insecurity.
Source/publisher: UN OCHA
2012-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 3.43 MB
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Description: HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES: • Displacement and humanitarian needs continue to increase. The urgent needs include shelter, NFIs, WASH, vaccines and psychosocial support, among others... • The UN team visited Laiza and provided NFI assistance to IDPs. Advocacy for follow up missions across all affected areas continues
Source/publisher: UN OCHA
2011-12-28
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 329.39 KB
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Description: • The instability in Kachin State that started in early June 2011 has resulted in the displacement of populations, loss of livelihoods and damages to infrastructure... • The recently-completed joint assessment in 39 locations in Kachin State reveals urgent needs in several sectors, including food, education, shelter, health, NFIs and water and sanitation... • Access and delivery of assistance remain challenging
Source/publisher: UN OCHA
2011-10-26
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 218.18 KB
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Description: Executive Summary: "The instability in Kachin and Shan States that started in early June 2011 has resulted in the displacement of populations, loss of lives and livelihoods and damages to infrastructure. The Kachin State government, local and community]based organizations have been providing some assistance to the displaced since the outset of the conflict. International organizations have been providing limited assistance through support to local and community]based organizations, while continuing to advocate for humanitarian assistance to be provided to all civilians in need. Following a Government invitation, a rapid needs assessment was conducted in 39 locations in some areas of five townships: Bhamo, Momauk, Myitkyina, Khaunglanhpu and Waingmaw, and targeted 5,925 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Two townships ] Mansi and Shwegu ] could not be assessed due to security reasons. Of the total assessed population, the assessment findings indicate that 57% are female and 56% under]18. The IDPs are temporarily residing in community buildings, temporary camps/shelters or with host families. Most of the IDPs are located in urban areas, while those in rural areas are primarily being sheltered by host families. While the number of IDPs is fluctuating on a daily basis, the assessment found that a large majority of those assessed ] 4,026 ] has been displaced for over two months. Among people with special needs the survey identified 70 unaccompanied minors, 196 female] or child]headed households, 40 chronically ill and 36 persons with disabilities. In general, due to the easier accessibility and the presence of a larger number of aid agencies, the IDPs in Myitkyina and Waingmaw have been receiving more assistance than those in Bhamo and Momauk. Access and delivery of assistance for many of the locations continue to be a major challenge, particularly in the southern townships of Bhamo, Momauk, Mansi and Shwegu given the security situation and damage to infrastructure, including access routes. Living conditions, particularly in larger temporary camps/shelters and community buildings where the population density is high, are challenging. The assessment found that 20 of the 39 surveyed locations are in urgent need of additional shelter assistance. Temporary camps/shelters would need to be upgraded with improved roofing, more durable and safer shelters, additional numbers of tents to lessen the population density, allocation of cooking spaces and relocation of latrines further away from the living quarters. These measures would make the temporary camps/shelters healthier and safer for children and women. IDPs in community buildings such as churches and community halls also suffer from over]population and the resulting lack of adequate sleeping space as well as lack of privacy for families. I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY While some non]food items (NFIs) have been provided by the Government and local and community]based organizations, to date, most of the IDPs require additional NFI support, including plastic sheeting, cooking utensils, blankets and clothes. These needs are most urgent in Bhamo and Momauk. Over half of IDPs in temporary camps/shelters and community buildings are facing food access issues. While food assistance has temporarily alleviated concern over immediate food shortages in over half of the locations that reported food access difficulties, a number of camps have yet to receive food assistance. The food security situation in Khaunglanhpu]La Jar camp in Khaunglanhpu and AungThar Baptist Church in Bhamo is of concern, and food assistance should be considered. People staying in host families in Momauk, in Momauk Baptist Church and 3]mile Kachin Baptist Church in Bhamo are experiencing lack of food stocks, and the food security situation in these locations would need to be explored further. Overall, the IDPs indicated a need for more diversified food assistance, which should be explored given the reported observable malnutrition in the locations assessed. The assessment suggests that the nutritional status of children needs to be further investigated. While access to water for domestic and hygiene uses is sufficient, availability of drinking water is an issue, with only 40% of IDPs having access to sufficient quantities of safe drinking water. The issue is particularly critical in Bhamo where all locations reported insufficient access to drinking water. Latrine use is wide]spread and aid agencies have provided basic sanitary facilities in all temporary camps/shelters and community buildings. However, some of the locations with larger number of IDPs need more latrines. Some latrines would need to be upgraded for sanitary and safety reasons. Hygiene promotion would be needed in a majority of the assessed locations, along with provision of hygiene items. There has been no report of disease outbreak or mortality cases since June 2011 in surveyed locations. Over half of the sites currently have access to health care services provided by basic health staff, while the others Kachin Rapid Assessment |1 5 in 14 locations only receive minimal health support through community health workers. Measles immunization campaign is needed in 31 locations, where a limited number of under]2 children has records of having had measles vaccination. Bed nets are needed in a majority of the locations. Essential medical supplies are needed in 35 out of the 39 locations. Some 1,055 primary school children and 1,249 secondary to high school children were identified amongst the assessed IDPs. Primary school children in all locations have access to varying degree of schooling support ] either access to nearby school facilities or to temporary learning spaces ] which they regularly attend. However, only a few secondary and high school children seem to attend school, due to lack of access and their contribution to household chores, particularly in the absence of household heads. Education materials are in short supply at all locations. Temporary learning spaces are not sufficiently equipped. A majority of the schools do not have adequate water and sanitation facilities. Early Childhood Development (ECD) centers have been established in six locations, benefiting 201 or 20% of all under]five IDP children. Efforts to construct additional ECD centers are currently ongoing. The number of under]18 separated or unaccompanied children was 221 at the time of the assessment, while 12.5% of households are either female] or childheaded. This points to the need for preventative measures to mitigate potential risk factors. Extra measures for ensuring the safety of women and children would need to be taken, particularly in the temporary camps/ shelters, including improved lighting at night, separate bathing spaces and latrines for men and women and appointment of security focal points. Needs of those with special needs such as the elderly and persons with disabilities would need to be taken into account. Fear and anxiety over the current, uncertain situation were voiced."
Source/publisher: UNOCHA, Humanitarian Partners in Kachin
2011-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2011-12-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.8 MB
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