Food assistance is urgently needed for around 6,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who fled their homes during the fighting in Pinlaung Township, southern Shan State, over two years ago and are still unable to return.

In early 2023, clashes between junta and Pa-O National Army (PNA) joint forces and the Karenni resistance coalition forced local residents to flee.

The IDPs are residents of Tawngmethin, Nanneint, Pinpon, and Longpyin villages in Pinlaung Township. Since their displacement, they have been sheltering in Pin Khun, about an hour’s drive from Pinlaung Town, and in nearby villages.

“The IDPs are living in temporary camps set up in areas provided by host villages. There are about 6,000 of them, and most live in makeshift tents. They have been displaced for almost three years and still cannot return home,” said a local villager assisting the displaced.

Another aid worker said that life for the IDPs is extremely difficult due to the lack of donors and job opportunities.

“The IDPs have told us that their food supplies have run critically low over the past two weeks. We can’t provide enough help because there aren’t enough donors, and there are very few day labor jobs for them to earn an income. As a result, they can’t even afford basic food items like rice, oil, and salt,” he told Shan Herald.

Currently, the junta-PNA alliance has regained control of Tawngmethin, Nanneint, Pinpon, and Longpyin villages, and while the fighting has subsided, the IDPs are still unable to return home.

Since August, the junta has severely restricted the import of foreign goods into Myanmar, leading to shortages of medicines, consumer products, and even baby diapers in Pinlaung Township.