Around 1,000 IDPs face food and shelter shortages in Taungdwin area of Minkin Township

Mizzima

Approximately 1,000 internally displaced people in the Taungdwin area of Minkin Township, Sagaing Region, are facing severe food and shelter shortages more than three weeks after fleeing a military junta offensive launched on 23 June to secure the road section, according to local residents.

“With the prolonged displacement, we face food shortages. Since it is the rainy season, we urgently need tarpaulins for shelter. We worry about children contracting dengue fever, and there is currently no medical care available,” a local male resident told Mizzima.

To secure the route, junta troops from the Northwestern Command advanced into Minkin through Yinmarbin and Kani townships with heavy reinforcements, residents said.

Junta forces torched approximately 150 homes across Htonegyi, Letpantaw, Kyaukmaw, Konemaw, and Seikthar villages in the Taungdwin area, residents said.

“I risked returning to my village only to find only the monastery left. Everything, including the school, was reduced to ashes. I have no home to return to, and I still fear the Pyu Saw Htee threat if I go back,” a local CDM teacher said.

Local resistance forces reported nine clashes with the advancing junta column, resulting in dozens of military casualties, including officers. The Taungdwin area is located about 16 miles west of Minkin town.