Junta air raids deepen livelihood crisis for displaced people in Ponnagyun
Escalating clashes along the Sittwe and Ponnagyun border, coupled with relentless junta airstrikes, have pushed internally displaced people (IDPs) who rely on casual labor into a severe livelihood crisis.
DMG Newsroom
16 October 2026, Ponnagyun
Escalating clashes along the Sittwe and Ponnagyun border, coupled with relentless junta airstrikes, have pushed internally displaced people (IDPs) who rely on casual labor into a severe livelihood crisis.
At the Kyankhin displacement camp in Ponnagyun Township, which shelters more than 2,000 IDPs, most residents rely on daily wage work, including selling vegetables, driving motorcycle taxis, gathering firewood and foraging in nearby hills.
Following two consecutive junta air attacks on IDP sites in Ponnagyun Township, fear has gripped camp residents, preventing them from carrying out daily income generating activities.
“Living conditions are far worse than before,” said a female resident of the Kyankhin displacement camp. “We were already struggling after being displaced, but with bombs falling everywhere, working to survive feels completely unsafe. The market can only open for half a day, leaving vendors in deep trouble. Everyone lives in constant terror of when the next bomb will drop. We have zero psychological safety.”
Junta warplanes carried out consecutive bombing raids on the Byarla and Pannilar displacement camps in Ponnagyun Township on October 4 and October 5, leaving 30 IDPs dead or wounded.
Aid workers reported that following these deadly attacks, IDPs are suffering severe physical and psychological trauma, making even the daily struggle to meet basic needs fraught with anxiety.
“Regarding humanitarian needs, the primary requirements for displaced people are food and shelter, alongside psychological safety,” said Ko Kyaw Win Tun, chairman of the Ponnagyun Youths Association.
“Right now, everyone lives in constant fear of air raids. School age children cannot attend school with any sense of security, and worried parents are afraid to send them to class. We are witnessing severe psychological trauma among the children,” he added.
Most IDPs in Ponnagyun Township have built makeshift shelters along the shoulders of main roads. Following the airstrikes, some families relocated to safer areas, while many others remain trapped in exposed camps, enduring constant psychological distress because of financial hardship.
The military junta has increasingly escalated its aerial campaign, with a recent report by BNI - Myanmar Peace Monitor finding that nearly 70 percent of regime airstrikes targeted civilians and infrastructure.
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