Elderly IDP takes own life in Rathedaung Twsp displacement camp

By Admin 30 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
30 December 2023, Rathedaung

A 72-year-old man at the Gutarpyin camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Rathedaung Township died by suicide on Saturday morning, with family saying he was driven to despair by the increasingly dire circumstances facing the civilian population in Arakan State.

A family member said that he hanged himself due to insecurity and food shortages triggered by the latest hostilities between the military and Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State.

“I found he died by hanging himself when I sent food to him.  He felt emotionally and physically insecure and committed suicide,” said the family member.

The man was a resident of Kyauktan Village in Rathedaung Township. He had no family members and was living under the care of relatives.

“His son was shot in the eye and died during the Kyauktan battle. While he was in IDP with his daughter, his daughter got sick and died,” said another relative of the man. “Now he is elderly and depends on medicine to live. Medicines are also in short supply, so it’s like he doesn’t want to put pressure on others anymore.”

On April 30, 2019, 275 people from Kyauktan Village were detained and interrogated by the Myanmar military on suspicion of having AA ties. On May 2, Myanmar soldiers opened fire, killing six civilians and injuring eight others.

Fighting between the military and AA has been fierce in Arakan State since November 13, and the regime has blocked land and water routes since then.

IDPs have not received humanitarian aid from international organisations for about two months, and many are facing food crises.

“IDPs are in need of emergency assistance. Food and medicine have run out due to the junta’s blockades,” said a social activist in Rathedaung Township.

Previously, the Gutarpyin IDP camp was home to 200 IDPs from about 70 households. Only 10 households remain at the displacement camp; several IDPs fled to safer locations due to junta artillery strikes following renewed fighting in Arakan State.