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| In October, Burmese people staged a protest in front of Burmese embassy in Malaysia, calling for the end of government military offensives in Kachin State. (Photo: Reuters) |
Relief workers say the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in question have fled in the last few days and are from five villages around Mansi Township, some 25 km southeast of Bhamo in southernmost Kachin State, close to the Shan State and Chinese borders.
The relief groups accuse the Burmese government of denying the UN and intentional organizations access to the IDP camps to deliver humanitarian assistance.
Kaw Ja, a member of a Kachin youth group which is assisting refugees and IDPs at the Sino-Burmese border, said that the number of IDPs had reached 1,187 by Tuesday, and that they had been separated into six camps near the border behind KIA front lines.
“In this camp alone, there are 400 refugees,” he said. “They are currently sheltering in temporary makeshift tents and sharing whatever food they have brought with them.”
“We are not able to adequately supply the IDPs, and in the long run they will face food shortages. They presently have no support,” he said.
A recently arrived IDP named Churchman said he and 180 fellow villagers from Mansi Township had fled in a hurry, and that many had run away without carrying any supplies. He said some had sheltered with relatives in other villages, but that he and his family had joined hundreds of other villagers in seeking refuge at a camp in Nawng Tau, near the Chinese border.
“Our living conditions are alright,” said Churchman. “However, we are worried about food supplies.”
Villagers fleeing from conflict in Kachin State are not recognized as refugees by the Chinese government and cannot therefore cross the border freely, said KIA spokesman La Nan.
Mai Ja, a local relief worker, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the offensive is intensifying and more troops are being deployed into the region.
The exodus of people from their villages across Kachin State began on June 9 due to the resumption of hostilities between the two sides. There now estimated to be some 30,000 IDPs sheltering at nine camps in and around the main town of Laiza and seven camps in Maija Yang on the Shan-Kachin border.
The villagers say they fear being captured, abused or even killed by Burmese soldiers; accounts are rife of human rights abuses by troops in the area.
Mai Ja said that Tuesday marks the 19th day that a 28-year-old Kachin woman from Moemot Township has been held in captivity by government troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 321.
“The troops seized the girl, her husband, their infant and her father-in-law while they were returning home from their fields with maize,” she said. “The others were later released, but not the woman.”
According to a report by the Kachin Women's Association Thailand, on Oct. 8, soldiers from LIB 74, 276 and 601 arrested eight males aged between 17 and 65 years from Namlim Pa village in Bhanmaw District. The eight were forced to work as porters, carrying army supplies and weapons.
Villagers often have to carry sacks of rice, food and heavy weapons, frequently have their hands tied, and may be forced to walk all day on very little water and food, the report said.
A UK MP, Andrew Mitchell, the country's secretary of state for international development, visits Burma this week. Burma Campaign UK has called on him to do more to ensure British aid reaches internal refugees who have fled increased attacks by the Burmese army over the past year.
Burma Campaign UK said that almost 150,000 people in Burma have been forced to flee their homes in the past year because of internal conflicts, and that the Burmese government is severely restricting access to these internal refugees by the UN and other aid agencies, resulting in a shortage of food, shelter, clothing and medicine.
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