Fighting displaces nearly 700,000 people since January: think tank

By Admin 28 Apr 2023

DMG Newsroom
28 April 2023, Sittwe

More than 680,000 people were displaced by armed conflicts over the past four months in Myanmar, which is a record increase and accounts for more than 25 percent of the displaced population in the country, according to an April 28 report from the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP-Myanmar).

At least 682,344 people were displaced from January to April 20, according to the report.

Some 2,694,567 people have been displaced since the February 2021 coup, and there were at least 497,200 displaced people before the coup, with the total number now standing at more than three million, said ISP-Myanmar.

Sagaing Region was hit hardest by armed conflicts, with at least 1,374,083 people displaced by fighting since the coup, followed by Magwe Region and Kayah State.

“The number of displaced people increased by 357,520 in 16 of the townships where the regime has declared martial law. The number was highest in Sagaing’s Khin-U, with more than 120,000 people displaced there,” said ISP-Myanmar.

The regime has declared martial law in 47 townships across the country.

At least 200,000 more people were displaced in 26 other townships where the regime has imposed martial law.

Those displaced need food supplies, according to volunteers helping them. The number of displaced people will only increase as clashes intensify, said political analyst U Pe Than.

“The regime has torched the houses of people, and arbitrarily detained them on suspicion. As it is deliberately targeting the people, more people will be displaced, and the resistance will also grow stronger,” he said.

Junta troops and People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) are engaged in fierce fighting in Sagaing, Magwe and Bago regions as well as Kachin, Kayin and Kayah (Karenni) states.