Displaced people are concerned that if they cannot go home soon, they will be unable to harvest their crops.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Shan State’s Hsipaw Township want the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) to meet in an effort to end clashes and reduce military tension in the area.

Conflict has escalated between the two Shan forces in Hsipaw since late 2018. For nearly one month, hundreds of IDPs have taken refuge in monasteries, and are concerned that if they cannot return home soon, they will be unable to harvest their crops—including corn and sesame—and their children will miss out on school exams.

“We have faced many difficulties. We cannot gather crops from our farms—we’ve had to leave them behind. We are going to lose all of them,” Nang Hser, a displaced woman from Ton Keng village who has been staying in Ner Makhaw monastery, told SHAN on Monday. “We cannot return home, since clashes are occurring near [our village] until now.”

To the RCSS and SSPP, she said she wanted the armed groups “to understand all of the suffering of the people” and demanded “the two Shan forces meet as soon as possible” to end this conflict.

Currently, there are more than 900 IDPs in Hsipaw Township staying in five monasteries and churches. They come from the villages of Nai Long, Ton Keng, Ho Ner, Want Hong, Tar Long, Kyeik Fon, Khai Hio, Lon Waing, Phat Nam, Loi Mauk and Seng Khawng.

Around 4,000 IDPs from 14 villages signed a petition on January 10 directed to the RCSS and SSPP, and sent it to the groups through the Shan parliamentarian for Hsipaw Township. In this letter, they also called on the organizations to meet and cooperate for a solution to armed conflict within the Shan community.

The SSPP released a statement in response on Sunday, saying that its representatives would try to meet with the RCSS as soon as possible.