IDPs fret over possibility of renewed hostilities in Arakan State

By Admin 09 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
9 November 2023, Sittwe

With the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) engaged in military activities on the ground in Arakan State, internally displaced people (IDPs) are concerned that fighting between the two sides may resume.

“There is no place for us to hide ourselves if the fighting breaks out in Arakan State,” said U Kyaw Chay, an IDP man from Cedipyin displacement camp in Rathedaung Township. “There is no place to dig a bomb shelter as we live in a displacement camp. We are worried that the fighting will resume in Arakan State.”

The IDPs said that if fighting breaks out anew, the junta may tighten travel restrictions on locals, and there may be difficulties with food supplies. IDPs are getting less support from relief organisations and currently rely on support from the World Food Programme (WFP).

“If the fighting resumes in Arakan State, we will not receive relief supplies and we will go hungry in the long run,” said Daw Shwe Oo May, an IDP woman from the Nyaungchaung displacement camp in Kyauktaw Township.

Many IDPs have witnessed past fighting and still grapple with trauma as a result.

“Seeing military vehicles carrying food at night near our displacement camp made us feel insecure. If the hostilities resume in Arakan State, we have no place to flee and we are worried about how to survive,” said an IDP man from the Aungcedi displacement camp in Mrauk-U.

The junta has increased military activities, tightened security checks on locals and stepped up scrutiny on civil society organisations in Arakan State following the Three Brotherhood Alliance’s launching of “Operation 1027” in northern Shan State.

“At the moment, we haven’t heard many gunshots in Arakan State. The military is likely to launch a new military front in Arakan State due to defeat in northern Shan State. There is a possibility of renewed fighting between the military and AA in Arakan State,” said U Pe Than, a veteran politician in Arakan State.

There are more than 58,000 IDPs in Arakan State and neighbouring Paletwa Township, Chin State, who are currently unwilling or unable to return home, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).