Displaced Residents in Ponnagyun in Rakhine State Urgently Need Emergency Aid
Thousands of civilians displaced by intense fighting between the Myanmar military junta and the Arakan Army (AA) along the Sittwe–Ponnagyun border are in desperate need of emergency humanitarian assistance, local sources report.
Escalating junta artillery shellings and airstrikes have forced residents to abandon their homes across at least eight villages in Ponnagyun Township, including Yarchaung, Kuntaung, Padetha, Hsin Inn Gyi, Chaungwa, Kyunchay, Ahtokethel, and Dabethlyan.
Most fleeing families are currently taking refuge in open fields and under forest canopies without basic shelter, suffering from acute food shortages and widespread seasonal illnesses.
"We do not have proper shelter," said Daw Hla Oo May, a mother of three who fled Kyunchay Village in her second displacement since the conflict escalated. "We are surviving on tiny rations of rice with a single side dish. Due to my poor health, sleeping on the bare ground under trees for extended periods is unbearable."
Displaced families also face severe medical emergencies without access to healthcare or basic medicines.
"My daughter has a high fever, but I cannot afford to buy medicine for her," said U Maung Zaik Kay, a displaced resident from Kuntaung Village. "We fled suddenly with only the clothes on our backs. We urgently need help."
The humanitarian crisis follows a major junta ground offensive launched on September 4 targeting villages along the Ponnagyun border. Although counter-attacks by the Arakan Army forced junta troops to retreat, the regime has increasingly relied on indiscriminate retaliatory airstrikes and artillery bombardments across Ponnagyun Township.
At approximately 1:00 AM on September 23, junta aircraft dropped nearly 20 bombs on Phetkya Village in Ponnagyun Township, killing two civilians—including one displaced person—and destroying multiple homes.
Comments