If the Rohingya issue was not enough to disrupt the peace of Myanmar, fresh hell have dawned upon them in the northern border in the form of a fight between army and ethnic Kachin rebels. The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and government troop escalates have been engaged in a conflict for long, which just seemed to have gone off the hook this month.
About 4000 People have been send away from their homes in the affected area, as per the reports of UN. The rebels’ retaliation have been met with heavy artillery and air strikes from military. It is possible that many are still left trapped in the affected areas apart from the few who have been able to escape.
see also : United Nation council heads to Bangladesh and Myanmar to see Rohingiyan refugees
Mark Cutts, head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said that his biggest concern is for the safety of the civilians- especially pregnant woman, small children, older people and the disabled. The Kachin rebels are predominantly Christians who have been fighting for greater autonomy in the Buddhist nation for more than 5 decades. There have been reports of fight between KIO and the military ever since the cease fire violation was broken in 2011.
The country’s leader Aung San Suu kyi has been under severe criticism for not being able to control such incidents inside her border. The UN has been in contact with the authorities of Myanmar to stop dismissing the reports of this unfortunate incident happening in Kachin. The US embassy in Yangon also expressed their concern about the fight that is fast growing out of control in Kachin. The embassy said that it contacted the government and the military to protect protect civilian population and allow humanitarian assistance to be delivered to the needy.
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