On the banks of the Sittaung, displaced villagers struggle to survive

More than 60,000 people have been uprooted by fighting in eastern Bago Region since the start of the year, and their situation is becoming increasingly desperate, according to local relief workers assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. Along the banks of the Sittaung River, just south of the junta’s administrative capital Naypyitaw, lies territory largely controlled by Brigade 3 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). As the group continues its push towards the regime stronghold, the military has unleashed relentless attacks on the area. “Last year, only residents of the eastern bank of the Sittaung River were forced to leave their homes due to junta shelling and advances into the area, but this year, we have seen an increase in displacement affecting residents on the western bank as well,” said a representative of the Committee for IDPs of Mu Township. Mu Township is one of three townships in KNLA Brigade 3’s Kler Lwee Htu District, officially known as Nyaunglebin District. In the first three months of this year, residents of 87 villages in the township have been displaced by fighting, according to a statement recently released by the committee. “It was a really hard time for us when we had to run from the fighting,” said a displaced Karen man in his 50s. “But this struggle for survival has been even harder.” Like most IDPs in the region, the man and his family had to leave everything behind when they fled their home. Since then, they have been forced to relocate five times, most recently from a temporary shelter in the village of Yae Le. Their current home is a makeshift shelter made of bamboo, thatch, and tarpaulin sheets that they set up in a wooded area on the edge of the township a month ago. Most IDPs in Bago Region have had to fend for themselves (Supplied) “We’ve been through a lot,” he said. “We’re constantly worrying about food and having a safe place to stay. Sometimes we catch fish or rats to eat. When times are really tough, we have to rely on our relatives for food.” Only once, he said, has he ever received aid—some rice and 50,000 kyat (about US$24) in cash—from the IDP committee of the Karen National Union, the political wing of the KNLA. Apart from that, he and his family have had to entirely rely on their own resources, he said. According to the representative of the Committee for IDPs of Mu Township, the need for humanitarian aid is about to become even more urgent, as many families face the coming monsoon season without adequate shelter. It is also becoming more difficult for IDPs to salvage supplies they left behind by returning to their villages during lulls in the fighting, he added. “Junta troops will usually loot the homes of villagers who have fled, but now they’re also burning those houses down, so there’s nothing for the villagers to return to.” According to local sources, at least 167 houses have been destroyed by fire in the township in recent months. Meanwhile, civilians continue to suffer casualties. According to the KNU, 18 people have died and another 39 have been injured in Mu Township between January and March of this year. The United Nations estimates that there are currently more than 2.8 million IDPs in Myanmar, of whom 2.5 million have been displaced since the military takeover in 2021.

On the banks of the Sittaung, displaced villagers struggle to survive

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