ICC Note:
A bishop in Myanmar has prioritized visiting internally displaced people in Kachin state. Clashes between militants and Myanmar’s army have forced over 100,000 people from their homes. The fighting has often spilled into civilian areas with government forces being accused of killing innocent civilians and destroying homes and churches. Ethnic groups in this region are predominantly Christian and have experienced decades of persecution at the hands of a staunchly Buddhist government.
1/5/2017 Myanmar (UCA News) – Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw in Kachin State said he remains committed to visiting ramshackle camps in which people displaced by war have lived for more than five years.
“I prioritize visiting the camps because I want to show those who are displaced that God does not abandon his sheep,” said Bishop Gam, who is an ethnic Kachin.
Renewed fighting in Kachin State between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar military has forced more than 100,000 people into internally displaced people camps. Civil war has plagued the mountainous northern state on and off since Myanmar gained independence from Britain in 1948.
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