ICC Note: More than 2000 majority Christian ethnic Kachin villagers were forced to leave their homes when a clash between the Burmese army and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke out. A Myanmar NGO is asking the head of Kachin state government to rescue the displaced civilians who are trapped in jungles and in need of humanitarian assistance.  

04/18/2018 Myanmar (Radio Free Asia) – A Myanmar NGO has sent a letter to the head of the war-torn Kachin state government calling for the rescue of civilians trapped in a battle zone in Tanaing township, as hostilities continue to rage between the national army and an ethnic militia.

The Kachin Women’s Peace Network (KWPN), which provides assistance to women displaced by war and raises awareness about the prevention of gender-based violence in refugee camps, submitted the request to Khat Aung, chief minister of Myanmar’s northernmost state, on Tuesday.

More than 2,000 ethnic Kachin villagers in Tanaing township have been homeless since April 11 after fleeing to nearby jungles to escape fighting between the military and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), said KWPN founder Nan Pu.

“These people have been in the jungle for so many days, and we have lost contact with them,” she told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “Most of their phones have no battery power now, and some who still have phones are in out-of-service areas. That’s why we are worried.”

One person was killed and two others wounded during a clash between government soldiers and the KIA on Tuesday night in Awng Lawt village, Nan Pu said.

Myanmar troops surrounded the village with heavy weapons and prevented residents from entering the area, she said.

“They were separated into three or four groups, and some of them were pregnant women and small children,” Nan Pu said. “They couldn’t walk any further, and the last we heard was that they were resting by a stream. They have no more food.”

“We want the government to ask the military to stop the offensive,” she said, adding that Khat Aung has not yet responded to the KWPN’s request.

The KWPN has also worked with technical groups that support the ethnic militias’ nationwide cease-fire team which holds negotiations with the national government’s peace team in Myanmar’s ongoing peace process.

Other clashes near the villages of Sut Yang and Sut Ya have forced out villagers who are hiding in the jungle and are in need of humanitarian supplies, the online news service Democratic Voice of Burma reported on Monday, citing local relief committee organizers.

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