Fears for supplies in Myanmar as exodus grows from fighting
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[May 19, 2021]
(Reuters) - People displaced by an
upsurge of fighting in Myanmar's Chin State voiced concerns over shelter
and supplies as more flee the conflict that has sprung up between the
army and insurgents opposed to the junta that seized power in February.
The exodus also threatens to push more people over the nearby border
with India, where an Indian government official said more than 15,000
had sought refuge since the Feb. 1 coup that has plunged the Southeast
Asian country into chaos.
"When it rains, we don’t have strong shelters," said Mai, who fled on
foot from the town of Mindat at the weekend and is now at a village 15
km (nine miles) away.
"We have enough rice and dry peas, but we have to go and find
vegetables. There is a shortage of oils and fuel for motorcycles. There
are no medical supplies. Even if we have money, we cannot buy
groceries," she told Reuters by messaging app.
Those fleeing say thousands of people left Mindat after the army
attacked to uproot fighters of the Chinland Defence Force, who are
aligned with a National Unity Government formed by the junta's
opponents.
"There are also reports of civilians killed and injured and civilian
property damaged or destroyed," the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
"Access by humanitarian partners to the people fleeing violence or those
still in their homes is challenging due to insecurity."
Since overthrowing and detaining elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the
junta has struggled to impose its authority in the face of daily
protests, paralysing strikes and an upsurge of fighting against old and
new groups of ethnic minority fighters.
A junta spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment.
MORE ATTACKS
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said insurgents had attacked
two other locations in Chin state, which borders India, on Monday. It
said no members of the security forces were hurt in the attacks.
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People flee from fighting in Myanmar's northwestern town of Mindat
in Chin State, Myanmar, May 17, 2021, in this picture obtained from
social media by Reuters.
Residents said the fighting had prompted many people to flee the
town of Kanpetlet, about 20 km (13 miles) from Mindat as the crow
flies, but much further by road in the hilly state, a largely
Christian part of predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.
"It is very sad we had to flee from our own houses," said
24-year-old Salai, now taking refuge at a nearby village.
An official in India's Mizoram State said on Tuesday that more
refugees were expected there too.
At least 10 people had been killed in Chin State in the past week,
according to figures from the Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners activist group. It puts the death toll since the coup at
805, a figure disputed by the army.
Reuters was unable to contact the Chinland Defence Force, a new
militia formed since the coup. Insurgents from various ethnic
minority communities have been fighting for autonomy for decades in
the diverse country of 53 million.
The United Nations said close to 10,000 people had been displaced in
Kachin State in the north by renewed fighting since mid-March.
Thousands have also been displaced by clashes in the east and
northeast.
The army took power after the election commission rejected its
accusations of fraud in a ballot swept by Suu Kyi's party last
November.
(Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
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