Military tensions between the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army – South (RCSS/SSA-S) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) have prompted around 1,000 local residents to take shelter in Hsipaw in the northern Shan State.
“The number of [internally displaced persons (IDPs)] has increased in Hsipaw. It has also increased in Bawkyo. There are 479 IDPs in Hsipaw town. The detailed list from Bawkyo hasn’t arrived yet. There may be around 1,000 [IDPs] when [the list of IDPs] from Bawkyo is added,” said Ko Myo from Border-less Parahita Association from Hsipaw.
Around 1,000 residents fled to Hsipaw and Bawkyo Village on March 28 even though there was no fighting.
“We can’t ask them why they have fled from their villages,” said Ko Myo.
“There were no clashes in the villages, but the RCSS/SSA-S entered [the villages]. They arrested 76 people. Then, they asked the residents of four villages to move out. So, the residents of four villages fled to two monasteries in Hsipaw. More residents arrived yesterday. There were over 800 people yesterday. There must be around 1,000 people now,” said an official from the documentation and research department under the Ta’ang Women Organization (TWO).
The fleeing residents are from Pang Hkar, Pang Hkan, Htan Sant, and Man Loi villages under Hsipaw Township. They have been settled inside the pagoda grounds in Bawkyo Village and Yadanar Shwe Gu Monastery in Hsipaw.
According to TWO’s Department of Documentation and Research’s Facebook page, 479 people from 138 households from Pang Hkar and Htan Sant villages are staying in Yadanar Shwe Gu Monastery and 403 people from 117 households are taking shelter in Bawkyo Monastery.
Officials from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Rescue, and Resettlement, charity organizations, non-governmental organizations, and local residents have been assisting the IDPs, according to Ko Myo.
He requested respective armed groups to allow local residents to live and work freely in their areas.
“Now is the time for them to work on the farms and tea plantations. I want them to return to their villages and do their work in peace. I want to request respective groups so that the villagers can return to their villages,” said Ko Myo.
Local residents have been killed and injured after stepping on landmines when they went to pick tea leaves in the tea plantations.
Heavy fighting resumed between the RCSS/SSA-S and the TNLA in Namhsan, Hsipaw, and Namtu townships since March 10 and tensions are still high between the two armed groups up to now.
High military tensions between the RCSS/SSA-S, the TNLA, and the Tatmadaw have also forced local residents to flee from their homes in Namhsan, Hsipaw, Kyaukme, and Namtu townships in the northern Shan State.
