Residents from nine villages in Hsipaw Township, Shan State who fled their homes in early May due to fighting claim that their livestock was stolen or killed and that their homes were robbed.
Burma Army offensives against the Shan State Progressive Party/ Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) have forced over 1,000 people to flee from Hsipaw Township to take shelter in monasteries over the past month. Many of the internally displaced people (IDPs) claim that after they left their homes livestock was stolen or killed. They also allege that other personal items and food was robbed from their homes.
Sai Sam, one of the IDPs said: “It’s only been a while since we arrived at the monastery. When we went back [to the village] to check out the situation, our homes were robbed. The cattle have been killed for food. Farm equipment has been taken and what can’t be taken has been destroyed like tractors, motorcycles, and bicycles. Grocery stores have been destroyed. The Burma Army is active around the village.”
Four monasteries in Hsipaw town have been providing shelter to IDPs who are still unable to return home due to the ongoing tensions in the area. Myohaung Monastery has 304 IDPs, Bodaw Monastery has 286 IDPs, Shwekyin Monastery has 179 IDPs and Saniyarma Monastery has 96 internally displaced monks.
The IDPs are from Namma Mauktaung Village Group and other nearby villages.
Another IDP, Sai Pay Ti said: “Now, it’s time to enrol the students in school. My eldest child is attending school in Lashio. Another one is in Mauktaung. This year, we faced the war and our home have been robbed. Our belongings have been stolen. I don’t have money to send my two sons to school.”
Sai Lone, a farmer taking refuge at the Myohaung Monastery in Hsipaw said: “I want to request them to stop the battles. Now is the time for farmers to start farming. If the battles continue, we can’t work. The lives of the public are [being] destroyed. We get arrested and killed. Please stop the battles. We want to go home.”
The Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) signed a union-level and a state-level ceasefire with the government in 2012. The group did not however sign the National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with government in November 2015. An estimated 100 clashes have taken place between the SSPP/SSA and the Burma Army since government forces launched their offensive against the group.
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
