Aid Trucks for IDPs Stopped by Burmese Army Troops

Kachinland News (KLN) | September 14, 2016

Aid trucks carrying much needed food for Internally Displaced Persons have been prevented from reaching IDPs camps in Mansi Township.

An aid worker in Lana Zup Ja IDP Camp, located in Mansi Township in southern Kachin State, said IDPs have not received donation of rice in two months. An aid convoy of trucks carrying 300 rice sacks from Bhamo had been stopped by Burmese army troops at Loije Gate on Sept 7. The aid worker said that IDPs in Lana Zup Ja Camp are eating porridge because of rice shortage.

Similarly, aid trucks coming from Muse and Nam Hkam carrying rice were not allowed to cross Nmau Hka Bridge by Burmese army soldiers under 33rd Light Infantry Division. The aid trucks were heading to IDP camps in Man Wing area. They have returned to Nam Hkam on Sept 9 after waiting at the Nmau Hka Bridge for days, said a source in Man Wing. He said some IDPs in Lagat Yang Camp and other camps around Man Wing area are having difficulty accessing food and going into nearby forest to find bamboo shoots for food.

Joint Strategy Team (JST) which comprises of KBC, KMSS, KRDC, BRIDGE, KWA, KDG, Metta, Shalom and WPN said there are currently about 120,000 civilians being forced from their homes and living in 167 camps across Kachin and northern Shan State. JST said meeting IDPs’ basic needs like food and shelter is a constant struggle as support for IDPs have been decreasing.