Thousands of IDPs in Rathedaung face food need due to junta blockade

By Admin 14 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
14 December 2023, Rathedaung

About 20,000 people who were displaced by previous fighting and stranded in downtown Rathedaung are facing food challenges due to the junta’s blockading of routes to Arakan State following the latest hostilities between the military and Arakan Army (AA).

As internally displaced people (IDPs) no longer receive humanitarian aid and largely make a living as odd-job workers, they face livelihood hardships.

“We only ask our children to eat full, and we eat less food. We face more hardships as we have many family members. We are in trouble as we no longer receive relief aid,” said Daw Moe Moe Nwe, an IDP woman.

Residents and IDPs have fled to safer locations as the military’s Rathedaung-based battalions have been firing heavy weapons and conducting strict security checks since renewed fighting in Arakan State began on November 13.

About 2,000 people live in downtown displacement camps in Rathedaung in fear as they are unable to flee due to the cost of travel.

“IDPs want to flee to safer locations but they don’t have money. We make a living as odd-job workers as we no longer receive relief assistance. If we feel sick, we cannot buy medicine,” said one IDP woman.

As the road blockages in Arakan State continue, locals are facing severe food shortages and commodity prices are rising day by day.

IDPs are increasingly in financial distress as they scrape by on K30,000 provided monthly by the World Food Programme (WFP).

“We are in a very difficult situation right now. We will go hungry in the long run,” said U Tun Thar Aung, an IDP man in downtown Rathedaung.

Thousands of IDPs in downtown Rathedaung were displaced by fighting between the military and AA in late 2018. They have not been able to return home for five years due to a military presence near the villages and the risks of landmines.