Kantarawaddy Times
Residents from villages in Pekon Township, near the conflict zone of Pinlaung Township, are currently taking shelter in the western part of Pekon due to fear of airstrikes from the military junta. These displaced people are in urgent need of assistance for building temporary shelters.
The displacement began in the first week of November. IDPs currently residing in camps within the Latain village group require emergency roofing and materials to build shelters. Due to the old roofing shelter and bamboo that IDPs brought with them, IDPs said it does not provide sufficient protection.
“We only have makeshift coverings, which barely provide shelter, and we have to sleep under those conditions,” said a female displaced person.
Although their home village has not yet experienced direct fighting, the daily sound of aircraft and artillery shelling forced them to flee, she explained.
“In the evenings, when the aircraft start circling, we know bombs might be dropped. Then, gunfire usually comes from the 336th Light Infantry Battalion (stationed in Pekon). Hearing these sounds day after day is terrifying, especially for me as a grandmother age, who has heart problems. So, we decided to take the children and leave,” she said.
Due to ongoing battles in the villages along the Pekon-Pinlaung border, villagers who have fled are now in need of food supplies, roofing, and other essentials. Some displaced people are currently working as day laborers to make ends meet.
“We’re staying at other people’s homes. Due to staying in relative’s home, we don’t receive support payments. Without money, we don’t have roofing or other supplies. Now that we’re trying to build our own shelters, but we have neither roofing nor mats. Without farmland or crops, our livelihood is as it is now—working whenever someone calls us for a job,” said a male displaced person.
He added that due to financial problems, they haven’t yet been able to pay for the transport fees that cost during their escape.
Battles between the military junta and revolutionary forces in the villages along the Pekon-Pinlaung border have continued for over a month. Besides the local villagers, additional displaced people have fled to the eastern and western parts of Pekon Township.
Fighting has been reported not only in villages such as Kabe, Puche, LwePata, Saunglan, Howo, DawpawKalal, HoPhoe, Ban Mauk, and Kunpaw but also throughout Pekon Township, according to displaced residents.
