Some parents in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township, where military tensions are high, are using vehicles flying white flags to move to safer areas so their children can continue their education.

June, the start of the new school year, is approaching, but clashes continue to occur intermittently in Hpakant and stability remains uncertain, prompting parents to relocate their children to other towns where they can enroll in school, locals said.

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has announced the closure of the Kamaing–Namya–Hpakant Highway, citing the security situation and public safety concerns. As a result, relocated residents are using the road while displaying white flags on their vehicles.

“Such a scene has never been seen before. Vehicles leaving Hpakant are moving along the route with white flags raised, and apart from them, no other cars appear to be using the highway,” a Hpakant resident told MNJ.

In addition to cars displaying white flags on the closed road, some motorbikes are also traveling. The vehicles evacuating from Hpakant are raising white flags to prevent possible shootings due to misunderstandings along the route.

As military tensions in Hpakant continue to worsen, some parents are relocating to Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, so their children can continue attending school.

In the Lone Khin Village Tract of Hpakant Township, tensions continue between the junta and the KIA-led resistance coalition, with artillery exchanges occurring almost daily.

On May 4, the KIA and allied People’s Defence Force (PDF) launched attacks on junta positions in Lone Khin, and clashes between the two sides have continued since then.

Previously, on April 6, the junta and its allied groups began taking positions in Hpakant Township.

On March 2, amid intense fighting between the junta and the KIA/PDF alliance in Hpakant Township, students taking the matriculation exam were forced to travel to Kamaing Town to complete it.