More than 3,000 IDPs in southern Myawaddy face food shortages

More than 3,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) who fled their homes due to fighting in southern Myawaddy Township near the Thai border are grappling with food shortages as donor support continues to decline.

The IDPs, displaced for an extended period by armed clashes in the southern part of Myawaddy Town, began facing shortages of rice and other basic food supplies in early January. The situation has worsened as the number of donors providing assistance has dropped significantly.

According to aid workers assisting displaced communities, IDPs in southern Myawaddy Township who are currently sheltering in eight refugee camps are in urgent need of food assistance.

Since the military coup staged by the junta in 2021, armed resistance has spread across the country. In the southern areas of Myawaddy Town, which fall under the control of Brigade 6 of the Karen National Union (KNU), fighting between the junta and the KNU’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), has continued for nearly five years.

As the fighting has yet to subside, around 330 displaced households from villages including Yathaytgu, Inngyinmyaing, Nupo, Minletpan, and Hpayarkone still do not dare to return to their homes. With food shortages worsening, they are struggling to survive by relying on makeshift and improvised coping methods, according to the Lay Kay Kaw Youth Network, a social relief group based in Lay Kay Kaw Town in southern Myawaddy Township.