Over 5,000 people displaced by fighting (IDPs) sheltering in Naungcho (a.k.a. Nawnghkio) Township, Shan State, is in urgent need of food and medical aid.

In April 2024, when fighting between junta troops and the Mandalay People’s Defense Force (Mdy-PDF) reignited between Pyin Oo Lwin and Naungcho towns over 5,000 people were displaced from Thayetkone and Sison village tracts in Naungcho Township. They have not been allowed to return home and are currently sheltering in makeshift shelters on farmland outside their villages.

A displaced woman described the living conditions in the makeshift shelter as extremely harsh during the current rainy season, saying that their shelter was inadequate and they lacked medicine and food.

She said: “Our current situation is dire, with almost no food left. The roofs of our makeshift shelters don’t provide enough cover, and when it rains, water leaks heavily inside. We have no opportunity to work either. Since we’re not allowed to return to our villages, we’ve had to set up these shelters on the farmland to the east of the villages. The PDF members told us that we can’t go back to our homes until the political situation improves.”

Illness and diarrhea are spreading amongst the displaced people in shelters on farmland, with the elderly and children being the worst affected.

In the last week of August, a 22-year-old displaced man from Parhat Village in Naungcho Township died because he could not receive timely treatment for diarrhea.

The previously quoted displaced woman said: “Among the war-displaced people, some children are seriously ill and cannot even eat, with some having been unwell for about a week. Aid is unable to reach us due to poor transportation conditions. One person who died after a severe illness was only 22 years old.”

SHAN attempted to contact the Mdy-PDF regarding the villagers’ allegations that PDF troops were stationed in the two village tracts and were preventing residents from returning, but was unable to establish contact.

Engaging in combat operations within civilian residential areas, refugee camps, and deploying troops in these locations constitutes actions that can be classified as war crimes. Furthermore, such actions violate the obligation to protect civilians during armed conflict, as outlined in the Geneva Conventions, to which Myanmar is a signatory.

In Thayetkone, Sison, and Thanbo village tracts in Naungcho Township, fighting between the junta and coalition forces of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the MDY-PD has been ongoing since late April.

Over 1,000 households in Thayetkone, Sison, Parhat, Mannar, Zarli, Panghkan, and Chaunggyi villages in Naungcho Township have experienced repeated displacement each time fighting erupts. With no proper refugee camps for them, these displaced individuals have limited access to aid and are facing numerous hardships.

Recently, arbitrary shelling by junta battalions based in Pyin Oo Lwin and Bant Bwe towns caused explosions near the Sinn Shwe Li sugar factory in Innwaing Village Tract, in Naungcho Township, forcing the displaced people sheltering in the area to be evacuated once again, according to local residents.