This photo taken on Dec 14, 2023, shows a girl playing in a bomb shelter near her home amid clashes between the ethnic minority armed group Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar’s military in Namhsan Township in Myanmar’s northern Shan State (Photo: AFP)
By UCA News reporter
Jan 16 2024
MYANMAR – Thousands of displaced including Christians in conflict-torn Myanmar’s Shan state are unable to return home due to security concerns despite a truce reached between the military and rebel groups last week.
Edward, a church social worker from Lashio diocese that covers northern Shan state, said, “Nearly 700 people remain in the Cathedral in Lashio city while others are sheltered in churches and monasteries.”
Most people don’t dare to go back to their homes “as their main concern is security,” he added.
Edward, who uses only one name, told UCA News on Jan 15 that the church is providing food and non-food items to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) together with UN agencies and private donors.
“Church social workers are unable to provide humanitarian assistance in remote areas due to ongoing fighting and road blockages,” he added.
Another social worker from Shan state said the situation was not yet conducive for displaced people to return home.
“The ceasefire agreement has been reached only on paper,” he told UCA News requesting anonymity.
Some priests fled their parishes and three churches and a convent were damaged in Lashio diocese due to intense fighting, according to Church sources.
Fighting intensified last October after a major offensive was launched in Shan state by the Three Brothers Alliance comprising the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Arakan Army, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army under a military campaign codenamed “Operation 1027.”
The fighting also spread to other parts of the country, including Kayah, Chin, and Kachin states.
More than 628,000 people were forced to flee in northern Shan and Kayah while more than 2.6 million were estimated to have been displaced nationwide at the end of 2023, according to a UN report released on Jan 12.
Myanmar’s military and the armed groups reached a truce during a third round of talks mediated by China on Jan 11.
The two sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire, to disengage military personnel and resolve relevant disputes and demands through peaceful negotiations, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
However, the military reportedly launched air and artillery attacks in Shan state on Jan12 and 13, according to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, which accused the military of violating the ceasefire.
The armed groups seized several towns including Laukkai, a gambling destination and a center for scam operations bordering China during the nearly three-month offensive.
The UN said 2023 drew to a close with “continued intense fighting across vast swathes of the country, record displacement, and pervasive protection threats facing the civilian population.”
Analysts remain skeptical about the recent truce. It might not bring peace and fighting may intensify if one side fails to implement it, they said. – UCA News
