Over 10,000 IDPs in Arakan forests need emergency relief supplies

By Admin 06 Dec 2024

DMG Newsroom
6 December 2024, Mrauk-U

More than 10,000 civilians taking refuge in forests after being displaced by heavy fighting in Arakan State’s Ann, Taungup and Gwa townships urgently need shelter, warm clothing, and blankets with the onset of the cold season. 

Around 50,000 residents have been forced from their homes in Ann, Taungup and Gwa townships, and around 10,000 of them are struggling with cold weather and food shortages in the forests.

“While some fled to nearby villages, some fled into the forests for fear of airstrikes. They need pots and pans for cooking. They don’t have blankets and have to sleep in the open without shelter,” said social activist and writer Wai Hin Aung.

Among the displaced in the forests are many children and elderly people. Some deaths have been reported in Ann and Taungup townships as a result of the cold and lack of medicines.

“Ann and Taungup have always been cold areas, and Ann is even colder. Some elderly people have died as a result. I don’t have exact figures,” Wai Hin Aung added.

Fighting has been raging in Taungup, Gwa and Ann for months as the AA attempts to drive junta troops out of those townships. As the conflict zone has expanded, the number of displaced people has increased, and civilian casualties are rising due to air and artillery strikes by the regime.

“Most have fled Gwa Town to different places. This has made it difficult to help them,” said a volunteer helping displaced people in Gwa Township.

Nearly 700,000 people have been displaced in Arakan State since the fighting broke out in November of last year, and most need relief supplies. The regime has blockaded Arakan State since the fighting began, depriving those displaced of humanitarian aid.