Arakan News Agency
More than 2,000 civilians have been trapped in the north-east of the country and denied access to humanitarian aid for seven days after being displaced for fear of clashes between armed ethnic groups and army troops, local civil society organizations in Myanmar reported.
“Civilians from three villages in the town of Tanai (in the state of Kachin) have fled their villages and the fighting has been going on for a week,” said Khon Jae of the Kachin Peace Network.
“Humanitarian organizations are not allowed to travel to that area,” Khon Jae said on Wednesday.
Myanmar’s once-embattled democracy leader, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has vowed to give priority to ending the 70-year-old civil war in her country when her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won a landslide victory in 2015, ending five decades of military rule, But the government-led peace process has been criticized for its failure.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday that clashes had been reported in five districts of Kachin state since April 7, adding that there were unconfirmed reports of civilian casualties and displacement.
