By Kantarawaddy Times
Monday, September 5, 2022
Local leaders working under the military regime have told civilians forced to flee after fighting broke out near their villages in Karenni State that they must return in September, although the situation is still volatile.
”For now, we do not want to return to our village. But we have to produce our documents, including our family registration list, and if our house was destroyed, we have to prove where we are living now,” says a woman from Demawso town who fled to Taunggyi.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals for speaking openly to the media, told Kantarawaddy Times that ward and village leaders cannot accept them staying put until the situation in their homeland stabilises. All IDPs must report to the local authorities where they’re from and provide their name, mobile number and ID.
Another anonymous IDP also living in the Shan State capital said that now that she has a flat in the town she will not return to her village in Hpruso Township as long as she can continue to rent it.
Tens of thousands of villagers have fled a Burma Army offensive against resistance groups that began in Loikaw town and spread to remote townships in January. Some people have already returned to their homes, but others have started new lives in Taunggyi.
Over 200K have been displaced in Karenni and southern Shan states since last year’s coup. Most of the people affected by the violence lived in Hpruso, Hpruso and Demawso townships, as well as Pekhon and Mobye townships in southern Shan State.