Residents of six villages located along the Yaw River in Magway Region’s Pakokku Township are facing growing hardships since coming under attack by regime forces in recent months, according to local sources.
At least 7,000 people from the villages of Myit Phyar, De Pyar, Taung Pa Lu, eastern Kan Hpyu, Shar Du, and Saing Hpyu have been displaced by junta raids that began in April, sources said.
Few have been able to return to their homes due to the military’s ongoing operations in the area, according to a member of a local People’s Defence Force (PDF) group.
“They have to stay in the forests and can’t go home. They urgently need food and clothing,” said the PDF member, who called himself Naga Gyi.
Many of the displaced have lost their homes to arson attacks. In Myit Phyar, which was raided on April 8, a total of 106 houses were burnt to the ground by junta troops.
De Pyar, Taung Pa Lu, and eastern Kan Hpyu, which all came under attack on June 8, lost a total of 215 homes, while 119 were destroyed in Shar Du and Saing Hpyu during raids that took place on July 8.
According to Naga Gyi, junta soldiers and members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia continue to loot homes that are still standing, making it impossible for their owners to return.
One Myit Phyar resident who goes by the name of Ko Fatty said that rice and other basic staples are in short supply and almost impossible to transport into the area.
“We can still get vegetables, which grow along the river, but there’s almost no rice, oil or salt. The military has blocked every way into and out of the region, and they search any vehicle they see carrying more than a dozen or so sacks of rice,” he said.
The lack of shelter is also a problem that will only worsen in the coming months as the rainy season progresses, he added. This will also deepen the villagers’ isolation and make it harder for them to get supplies.
“The roads start to get really bad at this time of year, so soon it will be impossible to go anywhere by car. We really don’t know what to do next,” said Ko Fatty.
He added that while the Pakokku PDF had donated some rice and oil, it wouldn’t last long due to the overwhelming need.
Meanwhile, attempts to seek assistance from the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) have been thwarted by the military’s ongoing attacks in the region.
“We submitted a list of houses that were destroyed [to the NUG] so that we could get supplies for the displaced villagers, but the military keeps torching more,” Ko Fatty told Myanmar Now.
The junta forces responsible for the attacks are stationed in Seik Kha Wa, a village located at the foot of the Tan Kyi hill on the opposite side of the Ayeyarwady River from Bagan Nyaung-U.
Regime soldiers have torched thousands of houses in parts of the country that have seen the strongest resistance to the regime that seized power last year, including in Magway and Sagaing regions and Chin and Karenni states.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 750,000 people have been displaced by conflict since the coup.
