Displacement exceeds 1.6 million in southeastern Myanmar as aid groups face mounting hurdles

Escalating ground offensives and airstrikes by Myanmar’s military junta have displaced more than 1.6 million people across Mon State, Karen State, and Tanintharyi Region. Local humanitarian groups warn that fleeing communities face severe shortages of food, medicine, and adequate shelter.

Across southeastern Myanmar, relentless artillery shelling, drone strikes, and aerial bombardments have forced tens of thousands of families to seek refuge in forests and rubber plantations, where many have remained trapped for months.

“Data collected through August shows more than 299,729 people displaced in Mon State, over 799,700 in Karen State, and upwards of 516,240 in Tanintharyi Region,” said Nai Aue Mon, program director of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM). “In just one week, we confirmed an additional 2,500 displaced people in Karen, 1,200 in Mon, and 2,100 in Tanintharyi. The true figures on the ground are likely significantly higher.”

Humanitarian responders emphasize that displaced populations urgently require basic survival essentials, including tarpaulins, food, clean drinking water, medicine, and personal hygiene products.

The onset of the monsoon season has exacerbated health crises, with malaria, seasonal flu, and waterborne diseases spreading rapidly through overcrowded temporary camps.

“Almost every township now has displaced populations,” said a humanitarian worker operating in Tanintharyi Region. “They desperately need shelter materials, emergency rations, and essential medicine. Malaria is rampant right now, and we recently confirmed two or three deaths from the disease.”

The protracted displacement is also severely disrupting children's education and health.

Families living in primitive forest shelters report a lack of nutritious food for young children, leading to widespread malnutrition alongside limited access to schooling.

Safety risks remain extreme even when active fighting pauses. Junta forces frequently plant landmines near residential areas before withdrawing from military operations, posing a deadly threat to returning civilians.

Concurrently, humanitarian organizations face immense logistical barriers. Strict communication blackouts imposed by the regime hamper aid coordination, while relief convoys face harassment, arbitrary searches, and blockades at military checkpoints.

“Transportation is our greatest obstacle,” Nai Aue Mon explained. “Aid workers risk encountering junta columns or checkpoints at any time. Ongoing military operations, artillery strikes, and drone attacks make field distribution extraordinarily dangerous. Compounded by shrinking donor funding, organizing effective relief efforts is becoming harder by the day.”

The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen as regime forces intensify air and ground assaults in an effort to recapture lost territory, key border trade routes, and strategic positions across the region.