Mai Rupa, Oct 14, Lashio
More than 1,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Namtu and Hsipaw townships who fled to Lashio, the junta-controlled capital of northern Shan State, due to the junta’s airstrikes are in need of assistance, according to those assisting the IDPs.
More than 1,500 displaced people are currently sheltering in Lashio and this includes over 500 from Naung Lone Village, more than 200 at the Ward 1 Buddhist community hall, and over 200 at the orphanage behind Sein Lin fuel station, alongside others renting accommodation across the city.
A Lashio resident who is assisting the displaced people told Shwe Phee Myay that the IDPs currently need aid, specifically foodstuffs such as rice and oil, as well as blankets.
“The main thing is that they desperately need blankets. They also need food. The families who are staying together in the wards need more assistance. It’s been two months since IDPs started fleeing from Naung Pain and Kyaukme. Since donors gave a lot back then, there are now fewer donors coming forward,” he explained.
He added that, due to ongoing clashes in Hsipaw and Kyaukme townships, residents from Kyaukme Town and Nawng Pein Village who fled to Lashio remain unable to return home.
Since October 1, junta forces have been conducting near-daily airstrikes across nearly all TNLA-controlled areas, including Namtu Township.
Over the past week, the junta’s military carried out three airstrikes on Namtu town, killing four civilians and injuring seven others. Fearing further attacks, nearly all residents have fled to safer areas.
In Hsipaw, junta airstrikes remain frequent. Meanwhile, ongoing clashes between junta troops and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) near the border of Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships have forced local residents to remain displaced.
According to data compiled by Shwe Phee Myay, nearly two weeks of junta airstrikes in TNLA-controlled areas have resulted in 31 deaths—including four children—and 28 injuries, nine of them children.
Translated by #KLT
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