More than 600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltering in southern Shan State face acute shortages of essential medicines amid a military junta blockade and severe monsoon weather, according to local aid workers and residents Thursday.

Displaced residents from Bawyan, Salong (North), and Salong (South) villages have been living in temporary shelters in Lartein village, western Pekon Township, since fleeing clashes between Myanmar military forces and the Karenni resistance coalition in September 2025.

As heavy seasonal rains trigger widespread flu outbreaks among vulnerable populations—particularly children and the elderly—medical personnel affiliated with resistance forces say they are unable to provide adequate care due to dwindling supplies and transport blockades.

“Transportation is difficult, so it is hard to get medicines,” an aid worker assisting the camp told the Shan Herald Agency for News, noting that junta forces have systematically blocked incoming shipments of medical relief. “The camp does not have enough of the medicines the displaced people need.”

The crisis in Lartein reflects broader humanitarian strain across western Pekon Township, where more than 6,000 people from roughly ten villages remain displaced following intense fighting over the past 11 months, with ongoing hostilities preventing their return home.