Displaced people (IDPs) sheltering in and near Mawsisar Village in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township are in urgent need of assistance, including food, shelter, and sanitation facilities.
The 218 IDPs fled fighting in Hpakant Township villages to the north of Mawsisar Village along the Myitkyina to Hpakant Road.
Currently, 166 people from 46 households, many of them women and children, are temporarily sheltering in Myu Sha Jawng Hall, part of a Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) school on the grounds of Mawsisar KBC church in Mawsisar Village.
The hall where the IDPs are sheltering is part of the school run by Mawsisar KBC church. The IDPs are worried that once the new school year starts at the end of May and the school re-opens it will be difficult for them to remain in the hall.
With the rainy season approaching, they urgently need proper shelter and sanitation facilities.
An aid worker helping the IDPs sheltering in the church hall said: “The IDPs are staying in the hall of the church school, but they're still struggling with accommodation, food, and financial support. They also need clean drinking water and proper toilet facilities.”
52 IDPs sheltering at a Buddhist monastery on Mawsisar Hill near Mawsisar Village are facing similar problems.
A trustee from the monastery said: “Donors from nearby communities have come to offer some support for the IDPs, but it hasn’t been enough. Right now, everyone is struggling with their livelihoods to some extent, and the earthquake has made things even worse. As time goes on, the need for aid is only growing.”
Fighting on the Myitkyina to Hpakant road north of Mawsisar Village in Kachin State, has been ongoing since 24 April 2025, when a Kachin Independence Army (KIA)-led coalition intercepted a junta column on the road.
Since then, about 2,000 people have fled the fighting along the road north of Mawsisar Village. About 1,000 of the displaced have managed to find shelter in villages on the Myitkyina to Hpakant road to the south of the fighting. Another approximately 1,000 displaced people are sheltering in forested areas near to their homes, as they were unable to evacuate further.
