Arakan IDPs in Ayeyarwady Region forcibly relocated

By Admin 26 Dec 2024

DMG Newsroom
26 December 2024, Yekyi, Ayeyarwady Region

Some 300 internally displaced people (IDPs) from Arakan State taking refuge in Yekyi Township, Ayeyarwady Region, were forced to relocate to Kyonepyaw and Hinthada townships on December 25.

Arakanese IDPs in Kwa Tauk Ward, and Meikthalin, Thidat Konpyin, Yaynauk and Dayaykon villages in Yekyi Township were subject to the mandatory move to Kyonpyaw and Hinthada townships, which came at the order of Myanmar's military regime.

"The Arakanese IDPs are from Gwa and Thandwe Townships and most of them moved to Kyonpyaw and Hinthada townships," said a female aid worker assisting Arakanese IDPs in Ayeyarwady Region.

Ongoing clashes have displaced thousands of local people in Gwa and Thandwe townships to Ayeyarwady and Bago regions, which share a border with Arakan State.

On December 23, junta-appointed village administrators, police and soldiers pressured Arakanese IDPs in Ayeyarwady Region to leave within two days.

Arakanese IDPs in Kyonpyaw Township are being pressured to relocate, but have been left with nowhere else to resettle.

"Some Arakanese IDPs in Yekyi Township were forced to relocate to Yangon and Pathein. Some IDPs are unable to relocate to other locations due to financial difficulties," said an Arakanese IDP woman from Thandwe.

Displacement camps are being built in Pyapon Township to house Arakanese IDPs, but detailed plans for the IDPs remain unknown.

Many Arakanese IDPs fled to safer locations amid the junta's airstrikes and artillery attacks, often targeting civilian populations in Arakan State, but they are facing various hardships due to junta authorities' restrictions.

"IDPs are not allowed to take shelter in safe locations. IDPs are facing various difficulties. It is not easy for IDPs to move from one place to another for the time being. IDPs are facing violations of even the most basic human rights, including the right to live freely," said a human rights activist in Arakan State.

The Gwa Township IDPs assistance team on December 25 appealed to Myanmar's military regime not to forcibly relocate people displaced by fighting in Gwa Township who are taking shelter in Ayeyarwady Region.