United Nations has said thousands of people have fled renewed fighting between Myanmar’s army and ethnic insurgents in the country’s remote north. The Head of UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Mark Cutts, said more than 4,000 people have been displaced in Myanmar’s northernmost state of Kachin near the border with China in the last three weeks. He said there are still many civilians who remain trapped in conflict-affected areas and biggest concern is for the safety of pregnant women, the elderly, small children and people with disabilities.
According to reports, About 15,000 people who have fled since the beginning of the year and upwards of 90,000 residing in the internally displaced persons(IDP) camps in both Kachin and Shan states since a ceasefire between the government and the powerful Kachin Independence Army broke down in 2011.
Earlier about 7 lakhs people fled to Bangladesh when the army has stepped up its campaign in remote areas of Myanmar amid the Rohingya crisis. The US and the UN have called the military crackdown ethnic cleansing, while Myanmar denies the claims and says it was defending itself against Rohingya insurgents.
Source: AIR