Kachin: Thousands of displaced persons and civilians fleeing army offensive against rebels
At least 4 thousand people sought refuge in Chinese territory. But the Beijing authorities are continuing rejections and repulsed the displaced across the border. Caritas and international NGOs speak of a serious humanitarian crisis, calling for an end to violence and aid for civilians. Naypyidaw denies UN envoy permission to visit the war zones.
Yangon (AsiaNews) - With the intensification of the fighting in Kachin State, northern Myanmar, along the border with China, the conditions of thousands of internally displaced persons, seeking refuge across the border are becoming increasingly critical.
Local sources contacted by AsiaNews confirm the escalating battle between Burmese Army (Tatmadaw) and Kachin rebels (the Kachin Independence Army, KIA). The epicenter of the clash is the Laihpawng area, home to the Zai Awng and Mugga Zup refugee camps, which were evacuated in a hurry.
To exacerbate the crisis of internally displaced persons, the decision of the Chinese authorities to close the border and send back civilians fleeing the war to Myanmar. In recent days at least 4 thousand people sought refuge across the border have been detained and deported. Now, says one source, "they do not know where to go" and are locked "in an area where a" conflict is taking place.
Caritas Myanmar and several NGOs present on the ground have appealed to the central government and the international community, to intervene to put an end to violence and alleviate the plight of the civilian population.
January 10, there were heavy clashes between the two sides. The Burmese army attacked with artillery shells and air raids. The third battalion’s target was the Kia rebel militias, located along the Nagyang area, near the two camps. The fighting has caused the flight of 2,600 displaced people and 1,400 civilians, most of them women, the elderly and children. Local witnesses speak of the "extremely chaotic and precarious" situation, with the continued displacement of already displaced civilians, looking for a safe place away from the war. The people have fled in haste, without being able to take even the minimum necessary, including food and medicine for the sick.
Activists and humanitarian organizations operating on the ground, including Caritas, warned that the priority now is to ensure "the safety and security of internally displaced persons", rejected by China and trapped by the fighting between the two sides. One evacuee said: "Last night, frightened by the fighting, we packed in a hurry and fled. Some families had already left. We tried to ford the river in the darkness and cold of the night, but the biggest fear [as it then happened, ed] was that the Chinese soldiers would stop us", and then "send us back across the border."
Even today the majority of displaced persons (about 2/3 of the total, according to latest estimates) are being forced to survive on the Burmese side of the border, even if the common objective is to cross the border and seek refuge in China, to build a new life. However, Beijing continues to adopt the policy of rejections while the central Myanmar government keeps trying to isolate area.
In recent days Naypyidaw refused to grant a travel permit to the UN envoy for human rights Yanghee Lee for "security reasons", who was supposed to visit Laiza and Hpakant in Kachin State.
The Kachin are one of the 135 ethnic groups Myanmar is made; they have always struggled to coexist peacefully with the central government and its majority Burmese constituent. The war between the Tatmadaw (government army) and Kachin which flared up in June 2011 after 17 years of relative calm, has caused dozens of civilian deaths and at least 120 thousand displaced persons, living in 167 refugee camps.
Over the past several weeks the advance of the Tatmadaw has intensified in Kachin territory. The Naypyidaw troops are using air and land attacks to hit the positions of ethnic militias, causing an unknown number of deaths.
The Archbishop of Yangon, Card. Charles Bo, along with the Bishops' Conference of Myanmar, have frequently launched appeals to the whole country for peace. In an interview with AsiaNews, Msgr. Raymond Sumlut Gam, Bishop of Bhamo – the Diocese at the epicenter of the conflict - assured that "the Church will never abandon the displaced in the camps" and will continue to go "where they go."
.png)
12/10/2017 12:42
