One thousand flee as renewed fighting erupts in Myanmar

Aug 23, 2019

By John Zaw
About 1,000 people have fled their homes and taken refuge at religious sites as renewed fighting erupted in Myanmar’s Shan State.

Aid workers said that more than 300 people were sheltering on Aug 19 at a Catholic church in a village in Hsenwi township, while 700 people were at Mansu Shan Buddhist monastery in the town of Lashio.

It followed three days of fighting between the military and three northern alliance groups: the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.

A man identified only as Eddie, project coordinator of Karuna Lashio, a branch of Caritas Myanmar, said people started fleeing their homes and taking refuge at the church Aug. 17. Most, he said, were ethnic Kachins.

He said Karuna was arranging to send cash and food to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) as they cannot travel there due to roads being blocked by the authorities citing security fears.

“We can’t tell exactly how long they [IDPs] need to stay in the church as fighting is spreading in several townships,” said Eddie.

Gum Sha Awng, a spokesman for the Joint Strategy Team, an alliance of nine humanitarian groups, said fighting had erupted in northern Shan State on Aug 18 and was still continuing.

“We are monitoring the situation to respond to the relief works of new IDPs but the blockage of routes has been our main challenge so far,” said Gum Sha Awng.

On Aug 17, a rescue worker from Lashio, the largest town in northern Shan State, was killed when the vehicle came under attack by sniper and artillery fire, according to a report in staterun media.

Tensions remain high and fighting has spread to several townships in Shan State since Aug. 15, following coordinated attacks by police and Myanmar’s military forces in Mandalay Division.

The clashes have left 14 people dead — nine military officers, three police officers and two civilians.

Myanmar’s government says the recent attacks by rebels have impacted upon the country’s peace process but the door remains open for talks. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy and the de facto prime minister, has pledged to end the decadeslong armed conflict but peace remains elusive and renewed clashes have undermined her peace initiatives. --ucanews.com