Mantong villagers fear returning to conflict zone
Some 150 villagers who fled their homes in Mantong
Township last month due to fighting between Burmese government forces and the
Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) say they are now afraid to go home.
 |
| A makeshift refugee camp in Hsipaw Township where the villagers are staying |
According to Sai Win Aung, an aid worker who is
assisting the displaced persons in northern Shan State’s Hsipaw Township, the families
are unwilling to chance going back due to the uncertain conflict situation.
“Although they [the Burmese army and TNLA] are not
engaged in hostilities at this very moment, the situation is still very tense,”
he told Shan Herald. “The villagers are worried that if they go back and
the clashes resume, they will be caught in the middle and unable to get out.”
He added: “The villagers are also afraid of a new
wave of conscription and tax collection in the area [by the TNLA].”
According to Nang San
San Aye, an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) representing
Hsipaw Township Constituency No 2, local community leaders have gathered to
discuss ways to resolve the problem.
“As the villagers are unable to go
home, we are now discussing ways to help them,” she said. “We are also
examining the possibility of expanding the village where they are sheltering or
creating a new village for them, and we are checking to make sure it can be done
in accordance with the law.”
On January 5, Shan Herald
reported that since the
beginning of January some 1,300 civilians from Mantong Township have fled their
homes. They are currently sheltering at six camps in Namtu Township.
Civilians in the townships of
Namsan, Namtu, Mantong, Kyaukme and Kutkhai have been regularly displaced since November 20 last year due to fighting between government troops and the newly proclaimed
Northern Alliance, which comprises the Arakan Army (AA), Kachin Independence
Army (KIA), Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the TNLA.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Tags: General, News
