Some 150 internally displaced people (IDPs) relocated to Kayah State’s Demoso Township on Saturday after facing a scarcity of both water and firewood in the forests and remote villages of Loikaw Township, where they have been sheltering in recent months.
The Karenni IDPs fled their homes in late May after a clash between anti-junta resistance forces and the Myanmar army in Dawngankhar ward in Demoso town.
Among them are around 80 children, ranging in age from newborn infants to teenagers, and around 30 elderly people over age 60, according to an official from the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), a resistance group helping the displaced persons
“They can’t go back to their homes. Even though there have been no clashes in Dawngankhar, it is not safe yet. Clashes can break out at any time now,” the KNDF representative said.
Unable to return to their community, the IDPs continue to rely on aid and donations for survival, he added.
The Karenni Civil Society Network reported on Friday that more than 150,000 civilians have been displaced in Kayah State and southern Shan State’s Pekhon Township since the conflict began in May.
