Internal displacement/forced migration of Shan. Palaung and Wa villagers

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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: Archive from May 98.
Source/publisher: Shan Human Rights Foundation
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-26
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Individual Documents

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: 618.4 KB
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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
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 2.64 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
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 617.51 KB
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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
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 2.63 MB
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Sub-title: For its work aiding and empowering communities uprooted by conflict or disaster, Meikswe Myanmar has been named the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award regional winner for Asia and the Pacific.
Description: "Big smiles greet Naw Bway Khu, 54, as she arrives at the Metta May May Shelter for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Lashio, the largest town in Myanmar’s northern Shan State. Women and children here know her as “Naw Snow” (Snow being the English translation of Bway and Naw an honourific used by people of Karen ethnicity in Myanmar), the leader and founder of the organization that runs this peaceful refuge. A trained nurse with a friendly demeanour, she acquired the nickname nearly two decades ago when she set up Meikswe Myanmar – meaning “Friends of Myanmar” – with the initial aim of providing antiretroviral therapy and places of refuge for women and children living with HIV/AIDS. After enduring years of domestic violence during her marriage, Naw Bway Khu wanted to support women in similar situations. Following her husband’s death in 2002, she spent two years working for an international NGO that cared for people living with HIV/AIDS before starting Meikswe Myanmar. Initially she accommodated women in her own home before establishing the centre in Lashio, and later an orphanage. “I was freed from my previous life [with my husband] and wanted to help women who were [HIV] positive,” she recalls, adding that she felt fortunate to have escaped contracting HIV from her husband. “I often brought them into my home, accepted them and shared with them what I ate. I wanted them to live a long life and fulfil their dreams.” “Meikswe’s work is all about addressing gaps.” As the organization started to care for a growing number of patients in rural and isolated communities, Naw Bway Khu noticed that many villages lacked access to basic services such as education and health care. She gradually expanded Meikswe’s programming to offer psychosocial support, education and income-generating activities. “Meikswe’s work is all about addressing gaps,” she explains. “Depending on the needs we come across, we expand our activities and geographical reach step-by-step.” See also: Angela Merkel to receive UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award for protecting refugees at height of Syria crisis In 2015, decades of armed conflict in northern Shan State sharply escalated, displacing tens of thousands. While humanitarian aid reached those who made it to camps for internally displaced people, Naw Bway Khu noted that those who sought safety in villages received little to no assistance. “Those in host communities were forgotten,” she says. As the strain intensified, Meikswe used funds pooled from staff, their families, friends and relatives to mount an emergency response, distributing food and basic household items to displaced people sheltering in villages. Naw Bway Khu also advocated for more international aid to be allocated to host communities supporting the displaced. Today, Meikswe implements a range of activities to support internally displaced people, their host communities and other vulnerable groups in close to 300 locations across six regions and states – from Rakhine State in the west of the country to Shan State in the north, as well as Kayin State in the south-east. For its dedication to supporting internally displaced people, even in the most hard-to-reach areas, Meikswe has been named the Asia-Pacific Regional Winner of the 2022 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award, a prize awarded annually by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to honour those who have gone to extraordinary lengths to help forcibly displaced or stateless people. With a team of 77 staff members drawn from a variety of backgrounds and ethnic groups, Meikswe’s activities directly benefited some 25,000 people in 2021. This was despite the many logistical, financial and security challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the military takeover that took place in February of that year. “All of our staff have to follow four values: to provide services for marginalized people, respect all races and religions, treat all fairly, and prioritize the needs of children and women,” Naw Bway Khu says. She attributes Meikswe’s success in delivering aid to communities cut off from other assistance to her staff. “We do things from the heart,” she says. “No matter how difficult or challenging it is, we are able to work because we have already received the love and trust of the community.” Besides its dedicated staff, Meikswe’s achievements stem from Naw Bway Khu’s determination to empower displaced and conflict-affected communities so they are eventually able to help themselves. “We cannot support them forever,” she says. “That is why we also provide technical support, so they can be strong enough on their own.” At the Namma Bawda village in Shan State’s Lashio Township, a group of 10 displaced women and 11 villagers are part of a Meikswe-supported sewing project that generates an income for their families. The women eagerly show Naw Bway Khu the fabrics they work with. “I think it is very good of Meikswe to support us like this,” says Noe Lar Sheh, a displaced woman living in the village. “We’ve never experienced anything like it before.” “Meikswe is like a big shady tree, supporting organizations like us.” Meikswe’s empowerment initiatives also extend to its support to local community-based and civil society organizations that are often the first responders during times of crisis. Recognizing the need for communities to be able to quickly respond to arrivals of displaced people, the organization trains them on how to carry out a basic humanitarian response. It also acts as a bridge between them and the international organizations that can provide much-needed resources. For the Otamaung Association, a civil society organization operating in Shan State’s Kyaukme Township, Meikswe’s trainings have been invaluable. First set up to provide health support to people from highland areas, the association has now expanded to provide emergency assistance to those displaced by conflict. “There is a Myanmar proverb that says one sturdy tree can support 10,000 birds. Meikswe is like a big shady tree, supporting organizations like us to have the confidence and capacity to carry out our work,” says Mai Ye Win Aung, the General Secretary of the Otamaung Association. Naw Bway Khu is determined to keep expanding Meikswe’s reach so they can assist more communities. “We will continue to work to achieve the rights that every human being should have,” she says. “Meikswe’s logo shows a small boat with a dove on it. I intend to help those on our boat as much as we can. We will help them find peace.”..."
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Source/publisher: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
2022-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2022-10-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Over 100 houses burned, 4,000 displaced by SAC scorched earth operation east of Moebye Lake, southern Shan State Since mid-May 2022, SAC forces have carried out a scorched earth campaign along the eastern edge of Moebye Lake, in Pekhon (Paikhun) township, southern Shan State, burning down over 100 houses and displacing over 4,000 people from Loi Pao village tract in response to expanded PDF attacks, On May 12, PDF forces from Pekhon attacked a SAC checkpoint (jointly manned by its milita ally the Pa-O National Organisation) at Htiri village in southern Nyaungshwe township, on the main road from Nyaungshwe to Moebye. SAC responded by launching a clearance operation south along this road, deploying LIB 422 and PNO troops into Loi Pao village tract in Pekhon township, east of Moebye Lake. Clashes erupted with local PDF forces, and on May 15 the SAC launched airstrikes over the area. The over 4,000 inhabitants of Loi Pao tract fled in different directions, including north to Hsihseng, Pinlaung and Taunggyi, and south to Loikaw (Karenni State) and Thailand. On May 16, fighting broke out between the SAC and PDF troops at Se Mee Law village, at the southeast end of the lake, and further reinforcements from ID 66 were deployed along the Moebye-Nyaungshwe road, including into Loi Pao tract. On May 16 at 4 pm, SAC troops began torching the village of Hsawng Nam Kay in Loi Pao tract, even though there was no fighting there. The troops doused the houses with petrol before setting fire to them. By the morning, over 40 houses in the village had been burned down. On May 17, at 11 pm, the SAC troops stationed in Loi Pao tract fired artillery shells indiscriminately at Loi Pan Sone village on an island in the Moebye Lake. The shells damaged Loi Pan Sone temple, school, and some houses. The shells also injured two villagers sheltering at the temple. On May 20, after clashes between SAC and PDF forces in Nam Maw Long village, the SAC troops began torching houses in the village. However, due to heavy rain that evening, only three houses were burned. The same night, the SAC troops torched houses in two nearby villages: Loi Pao and Nam Maw Soam. At least 15 houses were burned down. On May 26, the SAC troops based on Loi Mong Ku Hill, east of Loi Pao tract, came down to Mark Khur Kham village and began setting fire to villagers’ houses at 7pm. Over 20 houses were burned down. On June 3, the SAC troops went to Hla Hei village and set fire to over 20 houses. During this time, SAC troops also torched several houses in Koong Mark Lang village. On June 21, SAC troops camped in Nam Maw Long village looted a motorcycle, fertilizer, and ploughing machine from the village, and torched three houses. On June 22, at around 6 pm, the SAC troops set fire to two houses in Loi Pao village. SAC troops remain camped in Loi Pao tract, so villagers dare not return home. The troops are staying in villagers’ houses, which they have ransacked as well as looted. They have also laid land mines around the villages and shot indiscriminately from Loi Mong Ku hill at civilians passing along the main road, so few dare use the road. Most of the inhabitants of Loi Pao tract are Shan, who earn a livelihood from growing rice, corn and avocado, but have been unable to cultivate their fields this year.....ရှမ်းပြည်တောင်ပိုင်း၊မိုးဗြဲအင်းအရှေ့ဘက်ကမ်းတွင် စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်၏ မြေလှန်ဖျက်ဆီးသည့် စစ်ဆင်ရေးကြောင့် နေအိမ်အလုံး၁၀၀ကျော်မီးရှို့ဖျက်ဆီးခံရပြီး ပြည်သူ၄၀၀၀ခန့် ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်နေရ ၂၀၂၂ ခုနစ် မေလလယ်ပိုင်းမှစတင်ကာ စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် ကျယ်ပြန့်လာသော ပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ် ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့၀င်များ၏ တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများကိုတုန့်ပြန်ရန်အတွက် ရှမ်းပြည်တောင်ပိုင်းဖယ်ခုံမြို့နယ် မိုးဗြဲအင်းအရှေ့ ဘက်ခြမ်းတွင် မြေလှန်ဖျက်ဆီးသည့် စစ်ရေးလှုပ်ရှားမှုများကိုပြုလုပ်ခဲ့ရာ နေအိမ်အလုံးတစ်ရာကျော်ဖျက်ဆီးခံခဲ့ရပြီး လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာအုပ်စုမှ ပြည်သူ ၄၀၀၀ ကျော်သည် နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာကာထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်ခဲ့ရသည်။ မေလ ၁၂ ရက်တွင် ဖယ်ခုံမြို့ပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့မှ ညောင်ရွှေမြို့တောင်ဘက် မိုးဗြဲညောင်ရွှေလမ်း မကြီး ပေါ်ရှိ စစ်ကောင်စီနှင့် ပအို၀့်ပြည်သူ့စစ် PNO တို့ပူးတွဲစခန်းချသည့် ထီရီကျေးရွာ ကင်းစခန်းကို ၀င်ရောက်တိုက်ခိုက်ခဲ့ကြသည်။ စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်မှ အထက်ပါတိုက်ခိုက်မှုကိုတုန့်ပြန်သည့်အနေဖြင့် အဆိုပါလမ်းကြီးတောင်ဘက်အတိုင်း နယ်မြေ ရှင်းလင်းမှုစစ်ဆင်ရေးကို ခမရ ၄၂၂ တပ်နှင့် PNO တပ်များအား ဖယ်ခုံမြို့ မိုးဗြဲအင်းအရှေ့ဘက်ခြမ်းရှိ လွယ်ပေါ ကျေးရွာအုပ်စုအတွင်းသို့ တပ်ဖြန့်ကာ စတင်ခဲ့သည်။နယ်မြေခံ ပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်များနှင့် တိုက်ပွဲများ ဖြစ်ပွားခဲပြီး မေလ ၁၅ရက်နေ့တွင် စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သည် လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှုကိုလည်းပြုလုပ်ခဲ့ရာ လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာအုပ်စုမှဒေသခံပြည်သူ ၄၀၀၀ ကျော်သည် နေရာအနှံ့ပြားသို့ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်ခဲ့ ရသည်။ ထိုသို့တိမ်း ရှောင်ရာတွင်မြောက်ဘက်ရှိဆီဆိုင်၊ပင်လောင်းနှင့်တောင်ကြီးမြို့များသို့၄င်း တောင်ဘက်ရှိ ကရင်နီပြည် လွိုင်ကော်နှင့် ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံသို့၄င်း ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်ခဲ့ရသည်။ မေလ၁၆ရက်နေ့တွင် စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သား များနှင့်ပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ်ရေး တပ်ဖွဲ့ ၀င် များသည် အင်းအရှေ့တောင် ဘက်ခြမ်းရှိ ဆီမီးလော့ကျေးရွာ အနီးတွင်တိုက်ပွဲဖြစ် ပွားခဲ့ပြီး နောက် တပ်မ၆၆မှ စစ်ကောင်စီ တပ်သားများသည် လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာအပါအ၀င် မိုးဗြဲ-ညောင်ရွှေလမ်းတစ်လျောက် တပ်များဖြန့်ကျက်ကာအင် အားဖြည့်လာခဲ့သည်။ မေလ ၁၆ ရက်နေ့တွင် ဆောင်နန်းခဲကျေး ရွာတွင် မည်သည့်တိုက်ပွဲမှဖြစ်ပွားခြင်းမရှိသော်လည်း စစ်ကောင်စီတပ် သား များသည် ညနေ ၄နာရီခွဲမှစတင်ကာ လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာအုပ်စု ဆောင်နန်းခဲ ကျေးရွာတစ်ရွာ လုံးကိုမီးရှို့ ဖျက်ဆီးခဲ့ကြသည်။ စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် နေအိမ်များကို ဓာတ်ဆီဖြင့်လောင်း ကာမီးရှို့ခဲ့ကြခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ နောက်တစ်နေ့မနက်တွင် ကျေးရွာအတွင်းရှိနေအိမ် ၄၀ ကျော်သည်မီး လောင်ပျက်စီးသွားခဲ့သည်။ ၂၀၂၂ ခုနစ် မေလ ၁၇ ရက်နေ့ည ၁၁ နာရီ ၀န်းကျင်တွင် လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာအုပ်စုတွင်နေရာယူထားသော စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် မည်သည့်တိုက်ပွဲမှ ဖြစ်ပွားခြင်းမရှိဘဲ မိုးဗြဲအင်းအလယ်တွင်ရှိသောလွယ်ပန်းစုံ (ရေလယ်ကျွန်း)ရွာကိုလက်နက်ကြီးများဖြင့် ရမ်းသန်းပစ်ခတ်ခဲ့သည်။ ထိုသို့ပစ်ခတ်မှုကြောင့်လွယ်ပန်းစုံဘုန်းကြီးကျောင်းတွင် တိမ်းရှောင်နေသာ ပြည်သူ ၂ ဦး လက်နက်ထိမှန်ကာဒဏ်ရာရှိခဲ့ပြီး စာသင်ကျောင်း၊ဘုန်းကြီးကျောင်းနှင့် လူနေအိမ်အချို့ပျက်စီးခဲ့သည်။ မေလ ၂၀ ရက်နေ့တွင် ဖယ်ခုံမြို့နယ်အတွင်း စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်နှင့် ပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့များ တိုက်ပွဲများ ပြင်းထန်စွာဆက်လက်ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့ပြီးနောက် စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာအုပ်စု နန်းပေါ်လုံကျေးရွာကို ညနေ၆နာရီခန့်မှစတင်၍ မီးရှို့ဖျက်ဆီးခဲ့ကြသည်။မိုးများသည်းထန် စွာရွာသွန်းလာသဖြင့် နေအိမ် ၃ လုံးသာ မီးကူးစက်ခဲ့ပြီးပျက်စီးခဲ့သည်။ ထိုညပိုင်း၌ပင် စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် နန်းပေါ်လုံကျေးရွာနှင့်ထိစပ်လျက်ရှိသော လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာနှင့် နန်းဆွန့် ကျေးရွာရှိနေအိမ်များကို ထပ်မံမီးရှို့ဖျက်ဆီးခဲ့ကြရာ နေအိမ် ၁၅ လုံးထက်မနည်း မီးရှို့ဖျက်ဆီးခံခဲ့ရသည်။ မေလ ၂၆ ရက်နေ့တွင် လွယ်ပေါကျးရွာအုပ်စု အရှေ့ဘက်ရှိ လွယ်မကူးတောင်တွင် စခန်းချထားသော စစ်ကောင်စီ တပ်သားများသည် တောင်ပေါ်မှဆင်းလာကာ မခေခမ်းကျေးရွာမှ နေအိမ်များကို ည၇နာရီမှစ၍ မီးရှို့ဖျက်ဆီးခဲ့ရာ အိမ်ခြေ ၂၀ ကျော်မီးလောင်ပျက်စီးခဲ့ရသည်။ ဇွန်လ၃ရက်နေ့တွင် စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် လဟယ်ကျေးရွာသို့ ရောက်ရှိလာကာ လဟယ်ကျေးရွာရှိ နေအိမ်အလုံး၂၀ကိုမီးရှို့ခဲ့သည်။တစ်ချိန်တည်းမှာပင် ပိန္နဲကုန်းကျေးရွာအုပ်စုမှ နေအိမ်အများအပြားသည်လည်း မီးရှို့ဖျက်ဆီးခံခဲ့ရသည်။ ဇွန်လ ၂၁ ရက်နေ့တွင် နန်းပေါ်လုံကျေးရွာတွင် စခန်းချနေထိုင်သော စစ်ကောင်စီ တပ်သားများသည် နန်းပေါ်လုံ ကျေး ရွာအတွင်းရှိ နေအိမ်၃လုံးမှဆိုင်ကယ်၊ ဓာတ်မြေသြဇာနှင့်ထွန်စက်များကို လုယက်ခိုးယူပြီးနောက် နေအိမ်များကိုမီးရှို့ဖျက်ဆီးခဲ့ကြသည်။ ဇွန်လ ၂၂ ရက်နေ့ ည၆နာရီ၀န်းကျင်တွင်လည်း စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာရှိ နေအိမ် ၂လုံးကို မီးရှို့ဖျက်ဆီးခဲ့ကြသည်။ စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် လွယ်ပေါကျေး ရွာအုပ်စုအတွင်း ဆက်လက်စခန်းချနေထိုင် လျက် ရှိရာဒေသခံ ပြည်သူများအနေဖြင့်အိမ်ပြန်ရန် ကြောက်ရွံ့နေကြသည်။ စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်သားများသည် ၄င်းတို့ မွှေနှောက် လုယက်ထား သော နေအိမ်များတွင်စခန်းချနေထိုင်ကြပြီးကျေးရွာပတ် လည်တွင်မြေမြုပ်မိုင်းများ ထောင်ထားခြင်း ၊လွယ်မကူး တောင်ပေါ်မှနေ၍လမ်းမကြီး ပေါ်တွင် သွား လာသော ပြည်သူများကိုရမ်းသန်း ပစ်ခတ်ခြင်းများ ပြုလုပ်ကြသဖြင့်လမ်းမကြီးကို အသုံးပြုရန် ကြောက်ရွံ့နေကြသည်။ လွယ်ပေါကျေးရွာအုပ်စုအတွင်း နေထိုင်ကြသူအများစုမှာ ရှမ်းလူမျိုးများဖြစ်ပြီး ၄င်းတို့အသက်မွေး ၀မ်းကျောင်းအတွက် ဆန်၊ပြောင်းနှင့်ထောပတ် တို့ကိုစိုက်ပျိုး ရာ ယခုနစ်တိုက်ပွဲများကြောင့် ၄င်းတို့၏ လယ်ယာလုပ်ငန်း များကိုလုပ်ကိုင်နိုင်ခြင်းမရှိပါ။..."
Source/publisher: Shan Human Rights Foundation
2022-07-27
Date of entry/update: 2022-07-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "On March 29, 2022, after a bomb explosion in Kyaukme town, SAC troops stopped two villagers riding a motorcycle and beat them so severely that one of them died of his injuries. The explosion, caused by a hand-made bomb, occurred at the Kyaukme municipal office at about 4 pm. The roof of the municipal office was slightly damaged by the blast. At that time, the two men, Sai Bee, age 43, and his nephew Sai Aung Kyaw Oo, age 28, were riding a motorcycle to buy some food in Quarter 9 after buying a smart phone in Quarter 6 of Kyaukme town. After buying food, they were on their way back to Nawng Bing village, when they were stopped by over 20 SAC troops at a traffic light in Quarter 6. Sai Aung Kyaw Oo was driving the motorcycle, and Sai Bee was sitting behind him. The troops interrogated the men about the bomb blast, beating and pushing them to the ground. They kicked them multiple times in the head and chest until both of them fell unconscious. The troops then put them into an army car, and took Sai Aung Kyaw Oo to the Kyaukme police station and took Sai Bee to the Kyaukme hospital. A soldier drove their motorcycle to the police station. After about an hour, the troops phoned the police to inform them that Sai Bee had been certified dead by the hospital. The police then released Sai Aung Kyaw Oo, returned his motorbike key, and told him he could go to the hospital. Sai Aung Kyaw Oo did not go to see his uncle’s body that evening, but phoned his relatives to come from Pong Wo village to collect the dead body from the hospital. On March 30, 2022, at about 1 pm, his relatives from Pong Wo came to the hospital. They had to pay 50,000 kyat for the autopsy, and then took the dead body to be buried at the Kyaukme cemetery at about 2 pm. The cost of the funeral was over 500,000 kyat, but the military did not provide any compensation for his family or for the funeral ceremony. Sai Bee was a widower who stayed with his elder sister. He had five sisters in his family, and was the youngest brother. He worked at a car workshop in Kyaukme. Sai Aung Kyaw Oo told his family what had happened to them: “We were riding a motorcycle from the phone shop, where we had bought a smart phone. While we were riding past the municipal office, we heard the sound of an explosion, but we just kept driving. We rode our motorbike to go and buy some food at a place nearby. When we came back, we met a group of SAC soldiers on the road. They stopped us, and then beat and kicked us.” When Sai Aung Kyaw Oo was arrested, the troops took about 45,000 kyat and his ID card from his wallet. About 700,000 kyat was taken from Sai Bee, who had come to Kyaukme to make a new ID card. He was staying in Nawng Bing village and had called his nephew to bring him some household documents for the ID application. Sai Aung Kyaw Oo had left Pong Wo on the morning of March 29 to come to Kyaukme. On March 30, 2022, after the burial of Sai Bee, the Nam Khong charity group went to the police station to ask for Sai Aung Kyaw Oo’s ID card and the confiscated money. The police replied that they had not seen any money. They said that the only item handed over by the soldiers at the police station was Sai Aung Kyaw Oo’s motorbike. Sai Aung Kyaw Oo is still suffering physically and mentally from being beaten by the SAC troops. The previous month, on February 3, a 44-year-old displaced farmer called Sai Tun Win was similarly beaten and kicked to death in Kyaukme town by SAC military intelligence officers, who falsely accused him of being a drug dealer and a PDF member. His family have received no compensation until now, even though the SAC authorities admitted his arrest was a “mistake”..."
Source/publisher: Shan Human Rights Foundation
2022-04-05
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-05
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Description: "When armed groups clashed in a small township in the eastern part of Myanmar’s Northern Shan State back in March 2021, it was not the first time that the villagers felt threatened. Ethnic armed group disputes over territory, as well as confrontations with the Myanmar Military – locally known as Tatmadaw - are deeply rooted and people here have lived in an environment influenced by conflict and instability their entire life. As a result, the area is also known to be contaminated by old landmines and other explosive remnants. In late March 2021, fighting once more came too close and this time the villagers saw no other option than to flee to save their lives. While the current political instability in Yangon and other major urban centers of Myanmar is often what is in focus in the media, the rural ethnic armed group conflict and waves of fighting with the Tatmadaw persist but is often less known to the outside world. In this instance in Northern Shan fighting this time was between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) alliance – all of them armed groups well known across Myanmar. Following clashes in the area that had continued some places for over five days, a group of 447 women, children and elderly made their way to an old Buddhist monastery five to six hours walk away from their village. The men were left behind in the village to look after and protect the farmlands and houses. It was at this interim safe haven that DRC and local humanitarian partner organisations were able to meet the newly displaced who were provided with emergency kits to help them and their host community cope with the crisis. Covid-19 compounding crises The recent intensification of conflict affecting people throughout Myanmar is leading to daily reports of new displacement and humanitarian needs are rising to alarming levels. In addition, a new wave and rapid spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar is right now sweeping through Myanmar, with a reported 90% of the country affected. The currently circulating Delta mutation of the virus is even more infectious than previous variants, resulting in unprecedented infection and casualty rates, and health facilities nationwide struggling to meet the rapidly growing demand for testing and treatment. As the pandemic continues to exhaust all remaining capacities it creates new fear across the conflict-ridden country, and in particular so among the most vulnerable and isolated communities. First Line Emergency Response through ECHO The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has worked with support to conflict-affected people in Myanmar since 2009 and in Northern Shan State since 2016. With recent developments in the country, new instability and not least the pandemic, DRC was among humanitarian organisations in Myanmar selected by the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO) to strengthen locally led emergency response mechanisms. These new efforts through the so-called First Line Emergency Response (FLER) project are critical to ensure access to life-saving aid and enhance outreach in isolated areas of Myanmar. Working with local partner organisations DRC has been present in Northern Shan State since 2016, and has worked with EU Humanitarian Aid funding of emergency responses in Northern Shan State since March 2020. In March 2021, the FLER project was launched in two townships in collaboration with several local partner organisations in this north-eastern part of Myanmar surrounded by five other states and bordering China to the east. DRC works closely with other ECHO implementing partners – Danish Church Aid (DCA) and Oxfam as well as several local partners, to ensure that the townships that are most affected by conflict are covered by FLER activities. Meikswe Myanmar – meaning ‘Friends of Myanmar’ – has worked with DRC since 2019 and is one of the partners now working with DRC to implement the First Line Emergency Response programme. As a well-known and widely trusted civil society organisation Meikswe Myanmar is anchored in local communities and has been operational since 2004. Their expertise, insight and detailed local knowledge gathered though a network of civil society organisations across Northern Shan State is crucial when navigating in environments that are highly sensitive and complex and where even practical outreach is a challenge. Reaching people trapped in conflict Planning of the First Line Emergency Responses in Northern Shan State is spearheaded by DRC with its partners as well as representatives of local communities and civil society organisations. They meet to discuss, design and develop the project and define the intervention in detail. The planning process helps DRC and partners to ensure that local coordination structures are in place and that the most vulnerable and crisis-affected are identified and provided with adequate assistance. In areas where roads are often damaged or communities are isolated after years of conflict, and where communication infrastructure is weak at its best, logistics is one of the everyday challenges for people in these remote areas as well as for those who try to reach them. ‘Once we get there, providing protection, emergency aid and if needed Emergency Mine Risk Education is a very first step to assist people in need here,’ tells Martin Vane, Country Director, DRC Myanmar and explains: ‘DRC and our FLER partners are furthermore working with grassroots actors to strengthen local capacity even remotely in order to build people’s resilience to future shocks. In this sense FLER aims to be distinct from other emergency response mechanisms in that local actors are the default responders and the aim of the mechanism will be to support their capacity to provide humanitarian assistance. This includes developing preparedness measures, training, prepositioning of stocks and other supplies. When people are able to return to their villages, they might need to travel through mined areas again and then once they are back, they often have to start all over, resuming farming activities, and maybe also reconstructing their houses.’ Conflict and climate change The First Line Emergency Response programme is now implemented by DRC through Meikswe Myanmar in two townships in Northern Shan State. Both are areas affected by a complex of decades old and new armed conflict affecting the population and creating widespread internal displacement within Northern Shan, but also spilling into Southern Shan and Eastern Shan states. Conflict is not the only threat here. Natural hazard threats are seasonal and people are all too familiar with Myanmar’s extreme weather events such as increasing hot summers and colder winters, floods, landslides and other extreme events that continue to be seen to intensify due to effects of climate change. Most people here are living in deep poverty and are already vulnerable to shocks from conflict and instability. Adding to this the weather events that are growing in scale and intensity, while also becoming more and more unpredictable, then the little means and weak resilience to cope is easily depleted. The risk of being trapped in displacement These risks altogether make entire communities prone to displacement that easily becomes a protracted situation. Many displaced individuals, families and entire communities now find themselves trapped and not able to sustain themselves in their interim safe haven, nor return home to the areas from where they fled. ‘As public services are limited or not existing and there is often no national institutions to rely on, we know from our local partners and the people we reach through the emergency responses, that every bit of aid and support makes a big difference,’ says Martin Vane, DRC Myanmar. DRC’s current First Line Emergency Response programme funded by EU Humanitarian Aid runs until March 2022 and aims to reach nearly 30,000 men, women and children with emergency aid and lifesaving support as well as support to strengthen local resilience to cope with crises..."
Source/publisher: Danish Refugee Council via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: About 100 people staying at a monastery need masks, hand sanitizer and medicine
Description: "Dozens of elderly people who are staying in temporary shelters at monasteries in southern Shan State after fighting between two local armed groups broke out in early June are at risk of a Covid-19 outbreak, two aid workers have said. The displaced people were among about 900 who fled from the Mong Khun village tract for safety in Wan Hway Long village when the armed wings of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) began fighting. The clashes have now stopped and the younger adult villagers have returned home, but about 100 elderly people and young children stayed behind because it would be difficult for them to flee again if there was more fighting. Those left behind need personal protective equipment including masks and hand sanitizer to prevent an outbreak of the virus, said an aid worker on condition of anonymity. “We need to do awareness raising about Covid-19 prevention and we need medicines and protective equipment,” the aid worker said. “There will be a huge problem if there is an outbreak at such a place because the camps have many elderly people.” Some of the displaced people aged between 60 and 70 have survived strokes, the aid worker added. Twelve people tested positive for Covid-19 this month in the town of Mong Kung, about 20 miles from the monasteries, and individual donors from the town have been barred from entering the shelters, according to another aid worker. The junta’s ministry of health said there were 537 positive cases and 12 fatalities in Shan State on Thursday, but the official tally is widely distrusted and locals estimate that the actual number is much higher. The RCSS and SSPP are fighting because of a territorial dispute over the Loi Hun mountain range in Mong Kung Township. While the clashes have stopped in southern Shan State, the two groups fought near Nawng An village in Hsipaw Township in the north on Thursday. The SSPP says it plans to inoculate 500,000 people against Covid-19 in its territory using vaccines from China..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-07-24
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-24
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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
Grouping: Individual Documents
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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..."
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Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
2021-05-20
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-23
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: "Hundreds of villagers remain displaced after heavy fighting between the Burma Army (Tatmadaw) and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) broke out their homes in southern Shan State. More than 260 internally displaced persons (IDPs) sought refuge in Kehsi township in southern Shan State during clashes that have lasted for three days. Sai Sang Mueng, a state level MP for Kehsi constituency-1, told SHAN that 107 IDPs are sheltering in a monastery in Phet Nam village, located in Wanchin village-tract, in Kehsi township. The rest are staying with their relatives in the township. Local MPs and the general administration development officer are providing food rations for the IDPs. “Currently, there aren’t any problems but if the situation continues it may get more difficult (to provide aid.) I think the IDPs will return to their home when the clashes end,” Sai Sang Mueng said. The Tatmadaw fought with the RCSS/SSA on Loi Tom mountain between Kehsi and Mong Kung township in southern Shan State. Nearly 500 IDPs driven from their homes from previous fighting returned to their homes on March 1..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Shan Herald Agency for News" (Myanmar)
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "There are currently about 8,800 displaced people residing in camps or settlements in the northern part of Shan State as a result of the armed conflict that resumed and has continued since 2011. Continued armed conflict has led to multiple cases of new short-term displacement. Between January 2018 and November 2019, over 46,000 people were displaced by fighting in 14 different townships. In most cases this was short-term displacement, with people returning to their place of origin after a few weeks or months. Ongoing insecurity and resulting access restrictions continue to hinder the provision of humanitarian protection and assistance to displaced people in need in the area...၂၀၁၁ တွင် ပြန်လည်အစပြုပြီး ဆက်လက်ဖြစ်ပေါ်လျက်ရှိသော လက်နက်ကိုင် ပဋိပက္ခများကြောင့် ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်မြောက်ပိုင်းရှိ စခန်းများနှင့် အခြေချရာ ကျေးရွာများတွင် နေထိုင်နေရသော နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာရသူ လူဦးရေ ၈၈၀၀ ခန့် ရှိနေပြီဖြစ်သည်။ လက်နက်ကိုင် ပဋိပက္ခများ ဆက်လက် ဖြစ်ပေါ်နေခြင်းကြောင့် ကာလတို နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာရမှုများလည်း အများအပြား ဖြစ်ပွားလျက်ရှိသည်။ ဇန်နဝါရီ ၂၀၁၈ နှင့် နိုဝင်ဘာ ၂၀၁၉ ကြားတွင် မြို့နယ် ၁၄ ခုအတွင်း တိုက်ပွဲများဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့ခြင်းကြောင့် လူဦးရေ ၄၆၀၀၀ ကျော် နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာရလျက်ရှိသည်။ များသောအားဖြင့် ဤနေရပ်စွန့်ခွာရမှုများမှာ ခေတ္တသာဖြစ်ပြီး ရက်သတ္တပတ် အနည်းငယ် သို့မဟုတ် လအနည်းငယ်အတွင်းမှာပင် နေရပ်ပြန်နိုင်ကြသည်။ လုံခြုံမှုအားနည်းနေဆဲအခြေအနေများနှင့် ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာသော သွားလာခွင့် ကန့်သတ်ချက်များကြောင့် ၎င်းနယ်မြေရှိ လိုအပ်နေသော နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာသူများအား လူသားချင်း စာနာမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကာအကွယ်နှင့် အကူအညီများပေးရန် နှောင့်နှေးကြန့်ကြာလျက်ရှိသည်။..."
Source/publisher: OCHA (New York) via Reliefweb (New York)
2019-11-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf pdf
Size: 418.24 KB 431.26 KB
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Topic: Myanmar Army Conflict
Topic: Myanmar Army Conflict
Description: "The decades-long conflict in northern Shan State has escalated in recent months following attacks by three ethnic armed groups on military installations and other locations in the country on 15 August 2019. The government stated that the attacks were likely to have been carried out in retaliation for recent successful anti-drug trafficking operations in the region. According to the three ethnic armed groups – calling themselves the “Brotherhood Alliance” – the attacks were launched in response to a military offensive in Rakhine State in the west of the country as well as repeated military operations in northern Shan state, despite a military ceasefire in the area. Civilians in northern Shan State, who have borne the brunt of these previous operations, looks set to endure fresh abuses, conflict, and displacement. This report examines international human rights abuses and violations of humanitarian law committed since mid-2018 by parties to the ongoing internal armed conflicts in northern Shan State. On 21 December 2018, the Myanmar military announced a unilateral ceasefire in northern and eastern Myanmar, however, as this report shows, while there may have been a reduction of the number of clashes involving the military, Myanmar soldiers have continued to commit serious violations against ethnic minority civilians. The declared ceasefire period has also seen a continuation, and in some areas an escalation, of fighting among ethnic armed groups, some backed by the Myanmar military. Amnesty International undertook research missions to northern Shan State in March and August 2019. In total, Amnesty International interviewed 88 people, including victims and direct witnesses to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. The organization also met with local and international humanitarian officials, human rights defenders, community leaders, journalists, and political analysts, and analysed satellite imagery and photographs related to specific documented incidents. Amnesty International wrote to the Myanmar civilian government and military, and to four ethnic armed groups, outlining the organization’s findings, requesting information, and expressing readiness to discuss the situation in northern Shan State. At the time of publication, none had replied..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK) (ASA 16/1142/2019)
2019-10-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : PDF
Size: 1.25 MB (44 pages)
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Description: "“The Myanmar military is as relentless and ruthless as ever, committing war crimes against civilians in northern Shan State with absolute impunity,” said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southeast Asia. “Soldiers – and more importantly commanders – are subjecting civilians to the military’s hallmark brutality in the absence of any form of accountability.” Amnesty International documented war crimes and other military violations against ethnic Kachin, Lisu, Shan, and Ta’ang civilians during two field missions to the region in March and August 2019. Civilians who spoke to Amnesty International repeatedly implicated the military’s 99th Light Infantry Division (LID) in many of the violations. Units from the 99th LID were implicated in some of the worst atrocities against the Rohingya in Rakhine State since August 2017, as well as in war crimes and other serious violations in northern Myanmar in 2016 and early 2017. “Wherever the 99th Light Infantry Division is deployed we see similar patterns of abuse and the commission of horrific crimes unfold. This highlights the urgency of international action to hold Myanmar’s military – not least its senior generals – accountable.”..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
2019-10-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: No Rohingya Muslims staying in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh turned up for a planned repatriation to Myanmar because they want to be guaranteed safety and citizenship first.
Description: "COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — None of the thousands of Rohingya Muslims living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh turned up for a planned repatriation to Myanmar on Thursday, demanding they first be guaranteed safety and citizenship. "Not a single Rohingya wants to go back without their demands being met," Bangladesh refugee commissioner Abul Kalam told reporters. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled across the border to Bangladesh after Myanmar's military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against them two years ago, a campaign that involved mass rapes, killings and the burning of homes. A U.N.-established investigation has recommended top generals be prosecuted over the crackdown. Rohingya Muslims have long demanded that Myanmar give them citizenship, safety and their own land and homes they left behind. The Buddhist-majority nation has refused to recognize Rohingya as citizens or even as one of its ethnic groups, rendering them stateless, and they also face other forms of state-sanctioned discrimination. Myanmar had cleared more than 3,000 refugees from more than 1,000 families as eligible for repatriation and said the operation to return them would begin Thursday. Kalam said none of the 295 families interviewed by the Bangladesh government and the U.N. refugee agency had agreed to return to Myanmar. "I'll go to Myanmar only if I have citizenship. Otherwise they will shoot and burn us," 26-year-old Abdul Hossain told The Associated Press. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government will not force the refugees to return and the repatriation will only happen if they are willing..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA) via US News (USA)
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Nearly 700 local villagers have fled their homes in recent days as the Burma Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) continue to clash in northern Shan State’s Namhsan Township despite unilateral ceasefires declared by both sides in the conflict. According to Shan State MP U Thein Zaw, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are flooding into the town of Namhsan to escape the latest outbreak of violence. “There are 369 displaced villagers staying at Zayanggyi Monastery in Namhsan, and there are more at Phayagyi Monastery. A total of nearly 700 villagers have already arrived in Namhsan,” Thein Zaw told NMG. The sudden influx has created an urgent need for food and other basic necessities, he added. “They need food, medicine, clothing and shelter. They couldn’t bring their blanket or clothes, so the IDPs have to sleep on the ground in the monastery. But what they need most of all is food,” he said. So far, he said, local people and civil society organizations have provided some food and other aid to the IDPs at Zayanggyi Monastery, but those staying at Phayagyi Monastery have yet to receive any assistance..."
Source/publisher: "Network Media Group" (Thailand)
2019-09-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "More than 400 people have fled their homes due to clashes near Kon Hser village in Kutkai Township, northern Shan State. Forces belonging to the Burma Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) engaged in fighting near the community on September 24, leading to the displacement of locals. Tin Win, who works for the Garuna Social Volunteer Team in Kutkai town, said that over 130 Kon Hser villagers have sought refuge in Mangton village, and villagers from the communities of Law Moong, Mang Aie, and Per Ju are staying in monasteries and churches in Kutkai Township. The total number of people, he added, exceeded 400. “Clashes intensified yesterday. I heard the sound of heavy weapons firing this morning. Now it’s stable,” Tin Win told SHAN on Wednesday. The internally displaced people are in need of food aid and drinking water. Maj Tar Aik Kyaw, who is in charge of the TNLA’s information department, told SHAN that there were no battles in Kutkai Township as of Wednesday, but that the Burma Army was continuing to fire on the TNLA..."
Source/publisher: "Shan Herald Agency for News" (Myanmar) via "BNI Multimedia Group" (Myanmar)
2019-09-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: IDPs, Northern Alliance, Northern Shan State, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Tatmadaw, TNLA
Topic: IDPs, Northern Alliance, Northern Shan State, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Tatmadaw, TNLA
Description: "Over 100 people from Kong Sa Village who were displaced by clashes in Kutkai Township in northern Shan State say they are short of food and lack proper accommodation. They fled to Mengtung Village after the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) clashed with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) near their village on Sept. 24. “They are 40 households and 141 people in total. They are staying at the monastery. And it is not suitable for them all to sleep together. They also need food,” said Mai Ai Kham, manager of the Mengtung camp for internally displaced people (IDPs). The IDPs are short of food. They do not dare go outside the village because they fear landmines, said Sai Bu from Kutkai who is assisting IDPs in Mengtung. “They are very short of food. They need basics like rice, oil, salt and onions. There are landmines around the village and it is not even safe to collect firewood. Provision of groceries will help them,” she told The Irrawaddy. Over 500 people from three villages are also taking shelter at churches in the areas, she added..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2019-09-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: Introduction: "For nearly four decades, Myanmar (also known as Burma) was ruled by military-led governments that committed grave human rights violations, resulting in international economic sanctions against the country for many years.1 Beginning in 2012, however, after the liberalization of some governmental policies, Western nations lifted these sanctions. In an effort to gain ground on countries like China and India that had maintained economic ties with Myanmar during the time of the sanctions, a number of states?including Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States, and many European countries ?increased development aid and allowed their businesses to operate in Myanmar for the first time in decades. This investment has been touted as a way to improve economic conditions for the people of Myanmar, one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, following years of government mismanagement, corruption, and economic sanctions that destroyed the country?s economy.2 While the opening in Myanmar has allowed foreign investment to soar and made new capital available for plantations, logging, special economic zones, deep sea ports, hydroelectric dams, and mining concessions, all of these types of projects have been associated with unlawful land confiscations from individuals and communities with little or no compensation. Economic development projects in Myanmar are causing widespread displacement and are having devastating impacts on those communities living in project locations, including human rights violations and adverse effects on livelihoods, food security, and health. For those subjected to unlawful evictions and land grabs, the consequences are dire, driving many people into poverty. Government policy has encouraged the development of these projects, and weak and unclear land policies, including some new land laws written to support investment and economic growth, have provided the government, military, and businesses with legal cover to confiscate people?s land without a transparent process for determining and awarding compensation. In the following report, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) builds on its previous research on land confiscations in Myanmar by using an epidemiological survey tool to assess the human rights, livelihood, and health impacts on communities displaced by the reservoir created by Paunglaung dam in southern Shan state..."
Source/publisher: Physicians for Human Rights
2015-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 512.91 KB
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Description: Summary: "Increased troop deployment, attacks and abuses by the Burma Army in northern Shan State during the past year have caused large-scale new displacement of Palaung villagers, calling into question the Burmese government?s claims to be seeking a peaceful settlement to the ethnic conflict. The number of Burmese government troops in Palaung areas of northern Shan State has doubled from 16 to over 30 battalions during 2013. Attacks and abuses by these troops have caused the fresh displacement of over 3,000 mostly Palaung villagers in the past year, who are now sheltering in four new camps in Namtu, Tangyan and Kutkhai townships. This is a fourfold in crease since late 2012, when PWO documented about 1,000 IDPs sheltering in three camps in Namkham and Manton town- ships. The military build-up is clearly linked to the government?s attempts to secure its large-scale investment projects in the area, including the Shwe oil and gas pipelines, which started sending gas to China in June 2013. Offensives have been ongoing against local ethnic resistance groups, in cluding the Shan State Army North (SSA-N), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and the Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). Burma Army shelling of villages, burning of homes and property, forced portering, torture and sexual violence have caused new displacement of over 20 villages during the past year. The offensives have continued despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations between the Burmese government and the ethnic armed groups. The TNLA met with the Myanmar Peace Center, led by U Aung Min on July 31, 2013, in Muse, northern Shan State, but the Burma Army launched new attacks against TNLA in Kutkhai and Kyaukmae only eleven days afterwards. There is insufficient humanitarian aid reaching the IDP camps. Aid agencies provided basic assistance to IDPs in Kutkhai an d Tangyan when they first fled, but since then there has been no regular support of rice or other food. The IDPs are forced to find work as daily labourers to feed their families, but there is little work available. Shortages of food have exacerbated health problems in the camps, but there has been almost no medical aid..."
Source/publisher: Ta?ang Women?s Organization (TWO)
2014-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2014-12-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.76 MB
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Description: "Shwe Pipeline Brings Land Confiscation, Militarization and Human Rights Violations to the Ta?ang People. The Ta?ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO) released a report today called ?Pipeline Nightmare” that illustrates how the Shwe Gas and Oil Pipeline project, which will transport oil and gas across Burma to China, has resulted in the confiscation of people?s lands, forced labor, and increased military presence along the pipeline, affecting thousands of people. Moreover, the report documents cases in 6 target cities and 51 villages of human rights violations committed by the Burmese Army, police and people?s militia, who take responsibility for security of the pipeline. The government has deployed additional soldiers and extended 26 military camps in order to increase pressure on the ethnic armed groups and to provide security for the pipeline project and its Chinese workers. Along the pipeline, there is fighting on a daily basis between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army, Shan State Army ? North and Ta?ang National Liberation Army in Namtu, Mantong and Namkham, where there are over one thousand Ta?ang (Palaung) refugees. ?Even though the international community believes that the government has implemented political reforms, it doesn?t mean those reforms have reached ethnic areas, especially not where there is increased militarization along the Shwe Pipeline, increased fighting between the Burmese Army and ethnic armed groups, and negative consequences for the people living in these areas,” said Mai Amm Ngeal, a member of TSYO. The China National Petroleum Corporation and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise have signed agreements for the Shwe Pipeline, however the companies have not conducted any Environmental Impact Assessments or Social Impact Assessments. While the people living along the pipeline bear the brunt of the effects, the government will earn an estimated USD$29 billion over the next 30 years. ?The government and companies involved must be held accountable for the project and its effects on the local people, such as increasing military presence and Chinese workers along the pipeline, both of which cause insecurity for the local communities and especially women. The project has no benefit for the public, so it must be postponed,” said Lway Phoo Reang, Joint Secretary (1) of TSYO. TSYO urges the government to postpone the Shwe Gas and Oil Pipeline project, to withdraw the military from Shan State, reach a ceasefire with all ethnic armed groups in the state, and address the root causes of the armed conflict by engaging in political dialogue."
Source/publisher: Ta?ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO)
2012-11-07
Date of entry/update: 2012-11-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 2.03 MB 1.44 MB
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Description: Executive Summary: "Worsening conflict and abuses by Burmese government troops in northern Shan State have displaced over 2,000 Palaung villagers from fifteen villages in three townships since March 2011. About 1,000, mainly women and children, remain in three IDP settlements in Mantong and Namkham townships, facing serious shortages of food and medicine; most of the rest have dispersed to find work in China. Burmese troops have been launching offensives to crush the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Ta-ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), to secure control of strategic trading and investment areas on the Chinese border, particularly the route of China?s trans-Burma oil and gas pipelines. In rural Palaung areas, patrols from sixteen Burma Army battalions and local militia have been forcibly conscripting villagers as soldiers and porters, looting livestock and property, and torturing and killing villagers suspected of supporting the resistance. This has caused entire villages to become abandoned. Interviews conducted by PWO in September 2012 show that the burden of displacement is falling largely on women, as most men have fled or migrated to work elsewhere. The ratio of women to men of working age in the IDP camps is 4:1. Women, including pregnant mothers, had to walk for up to a week through the jungle to reach the camps, carrying their children and possessions, and avoiding Burmese army patrols and landmines. Elderly people were left behind. Little aid has reached the IDP settlements, particular the largest camp housing over 500 in a remote mountainous area north of Manton, where shortages of water, food and medicines are causing widespread disease. Mothers are struggling to feed their families on loans of rice from local villagers, and have taken their daughters out of school. Some women have left children with relatives and gone to find work in China. PWO is calling urgently for aid to these IDPs, and for political pressure on Burma?s government to end its military offensives and abuses, pull back troops from conflict areas, and begin meaningful political dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict."
Source/publisher: Palaung Women?s Organization
2012-11-03
Date of entry/update: 2012-11-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.72 MB
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Description: "This report gives quantitative evidence in support of claims that there has been a large influx of Shans arriving into northern Thailand during the past 6 years who are genuine refugees fleeing persecution and not simply migrant workers. This data was based on interviews with 66,868 Shans arriving in Fang District of northern Chiang Mai province between June 1997 and December 2002, The data shows that almost all the new arrivals came from the twelve townships in Central Shan State where the Burmese military regime has carried out a mass forced relocation program since March 1996, and where the regime?s troops have been perpetrating systematic human rights abuses against civilian populations. Higher numbers of arrivals came from townships such as Kunhing where a higher incidence of human rights abuses has been reported. Evidence also shows increases in refugee outflows from specific village tracts directly after large-scale massacres were committed by the regime?s troops..."
Source/publisher: Shan Human Rights Foundation via Shan Herald Agency for news
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 10,000 Shans uprooted, 500 houses burned in Burmese regime?s latest scorched earth campaign (press release)... Map of villages forcibly relocated... Summary of villages forcibly relocated... Images of the Burmese regime?s latest scorched earth campaign
Source/publisher: Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), Shan Women?s Action Network (SWAN), Shan Relief and Development Committee, Shan Sapawa Environmental Organisation, Shan Youth Power, Shan Health Committee
2009-08-13
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: A report on forced relocation and extrajudicial killings in Shan State, Burma. Since the publication of "Uprooting the Shan," the report by the SHRF detailing the forced relocation program carried out by the SLORC in Shan State during 1996, the SLORC military regime (recently renamed the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC) has been continuing to uproot more villages throughout 1997 and early 1998. Many of the relocation sites that were the results of 1996 relocations have been forced to move again. Human rights abuses such as mass killings, rape, torture and looting have been committed repeatedly by the SPDC troops against the displaced population. This has prompted the need to publish this updated report, containing more complete lists and maps of the relocated villages, and detailing the many extrajudicial killings committed by the military regime in the areas of relocation. We hope that this report will give a clearer picture to the international community of the devastating effects of the forced relocation program on the population of Central Shan State. KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced
Source/publisher: Shan Human Rights Foundation
1998-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The last two years have seen a profound deterioration in the human rights situation throughout the central Shan State in Myanmar. Hundreds of Shan civilians caught in the midst of counter-insurgency activities have been killed or tortured by the Burmese army. These abuses, occurring in a country which is closed to independent monitors, are largely unknown to the outside world. Denial of access for human rights monitors and journalists means that the full scale of the tragedy can not be accurately calculated. Therefore the information presented below represents only a part of the story.
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 16/05/98)
1998-04-15
Date of entry/update: 2010-07-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ?The report ?Roots and Resilience” by the Shan Sapawa Environment Organization focuses on the ecologically unique area of Keng Kham, a community of 15,000 that was forcibly relocated over ten years ago; the majority have fled to Thailand. Today the estimated 3,000 that remain are managing to maintain their livelihoods and culture despite the constant threats of the Burma Army and the impending Tasang dam. Indigenous Shan cultural practices, river-fed farms, sacred cave temples and pristine waterfalls are depicted in photos from this isolated war-zone, together with updated information about the dam project, which has been shrouded in secrecy. The 7,110 MW Tasang Dam is the biggest of five dams planned on the Salween River; the majority of the power from the dam will be sold to Thailand. Project investors include the Thai MDX Company and China?s Gezhouba Group Company. Thailand?s support for the controversial dam was recently reiterated when the project was included in its national Power Development Plan. Military tension has escalated in recent months in Shan State as the Burmese regime has been putting pressure on the United Wa State Army to transform into a ?Border Guard Force.” Abuses linked to anti-insurgency campaigns are also on the rise.?
Source/publisher: Shan Sapawa Environmental Organization
2009-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Thai
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 1.79 MB 4.67 MB
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Description: Abstract: "Decades of neglect and abuses by the Burmese government have decimated the health of the peoples of Burma, particularly along her eastern frontiers, overwhelmingly populated by ethnic minorities such as the Shan. Vast areas of traditional Shan homelands have been systematically depopulated by the Burmese military regime as part of its counter-insurgency policy, which also employs widespread abuses of civilians by Burmese soldiers, including rape, torture, and extrajudicial executions. These abuses, coupled with Burmese government economic mismanagement which has further entrenched already pervasive poverty in rural Burma, have spawned a humanitarian catastrophe, forcing hundreds of thousands of ethnic Shan villagers to flee their homes for Thailand. In Thailand, they are denied refugee status and its legal protections, living at constant risk for arrest and deportation. Classified as ?economic migrants,” many are forced to work in exploitative conditions, including in the Thai sex industry, and Shan migrants often lack access to basic health services in Thailand. Available health data on Shan migrants in Thailand already indicates that this population bears a disproportionately high burden of infectious diseases, particularly HIV, tuberculosis, lymphatic filariasis, and some vaccine-preventable illnesses, undermining progress made by Thailand?s public health system in controlling such entities. The ongoing failure to address the root political causes of migration and poor health in eastern Burma, coupled with the many barriers to accessing health programs in Thailand by undocumented migrants, particularly the Shan, virtually guarantees Thailand?s inability to sustainably control many infectious disease entities, especially along her borders with Burma."
Creator/author: Voravit Suwanvanichkij
Source/publisher: Conflict and Health 2008, 2:4
2008-03-14
Date of entry/update: 2008-04-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 169.63 KB
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Description: "The plight of Burma's internally displaced persons has largely been overlooked by the international community and the Burmese government itself. Villagers in the country's war zones nevertheless have suffered for decades the adverse effects of conflict. For some, displacement has become a way of life and a multi-generational phenomenon. Displacement wherever it occurs profoundly changes the persons forced to move. People lose belongings, jobs, and loved ones. The case of the internally displaced in southern Shan State is no different. In this report, the Humanitarian Affairs Research Project documents the impact displacement has had on civilians in southern Shan State and the living conditions in the various places to which they fled. The report builds successfully on the work of other local research groups and adds updated information and perspective to the study of Burma's internally displaced. It will be a valuable addition to policy makers, academics, and anyone concerned about the fate of the people of Shan State. One lesson clearly emerging from the report is that the IDPs in southern Shan State clearly are in need of protection and assistance. More needs to be done and it needs to be done now. The Burmese government as well as other domestic and international actors should consider carefully the ways in which this important goal can be accomplished. This report offers some recommendations that can help to set the actors on the right path..."....This document contains a Shan version of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Since this is an image file of almost 2MB, OBL has produced the whole document, with GP; the Guiding Principles as a separate document; and the English text without GP.
Creator/author: GARY RISSER, OUM KHER, SEIN HTUN
Source/publisher: Humanitarian Affairs Research Project, Asian Research Center for Migration, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University
2004-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-09-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English and Shan
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 2.88 MB 1006.8 KB 1.9 MB
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Description: Continued Forced Relocations and Displacement in Shan State. "This report aims to provide a picture of the current situation in central Shan State, where the military junta ruling Burma has forcibly uprooted and destroyed over 1,400 villages and displaced well over 300,000 people since 1996. This campaign against civilians is still continuing after 4 brutal years, leaving much of the Shan population homeless. In this report, some of the villagers who both lived in relocation sites and hid in the jungle to avoid relocation describe their experiences. Further background and detail on the campaign to uproot the Shan can be found in the previous Karen Human Rights Group reports "Killing the Shan" (KHRG #98-03, 23/5/98) and "Forced Relocation in Central Shan State" (KHRG #96-23, 25/6/96), which are available online at this web site or by request from KHRG, and in the April 1998 report "Dispossessed: Forced Relocation and Extrajudicial Killings in Shan State" by the Shan Human Rights Foundation." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #2000-03)
2000-04-05
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "This report aims to provide a picture of the current situation in central Shan State, where the military junta ruling Burma has forcibly uprooted and destroyed over 1,400 villages and displaced over 300,000 people since 1996. This campaign against civilians is still continuing, and the number of villages destroyed is increasing each month. In this report, some of the villagers who have fled in 1997 and 1998 describe their experiences. Further background and detail on the campaign to uproot the Shan can be found in the previous Karen Human Rights Group report "Forced Relocation in Central Shan State" (KHRG #96-23, 25/6/96), and in the April 1998 report "Dispossessed: Forced Relocation and Extrajudicial Killings in Shan State" by the Shan Human Rights Foundation ..." ..... ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocaton, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #98-03)
1998-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Beginning 1999 up to March this year (2002), hundreds of thousands of Wa people, who had impressed British travelers as ?exceedingly well-behaved, industrious, and estimable race?, were forcibly moved to border areas adjacent Thailand. The report is about them, why and how they were uprooted, what happened to the native people where the Wa were forced to resettle and what the reader can do to help both categories of victims..." Important, timely and well-produced document, complete with maps and photos.
Source/publisher: Lahu National Development Organization
2002-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.55 MB
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