Around 6,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pang Laung (Pinlaung) Township, southern Shan State, have been unable to return home for over two years due to fighting between Myanmar military council troops, the Pa-O National Army (PNA), and Karenni revolutionary forces.

The displaced, from the villages of Taung Mae Thin, Nan Naint, Pin Pon, and Lon Pyaing, are currently sheltering in Pin Khun village, Mann Hta village, and nearby communities about an hour from Pang Laung. Most live in makeshift huts, dependent on the generosity of local villagers, and are facing severe food shortages.

“The villagers gave them a place to stay. There are about 6,000 people living there in camps. They have been in these villages for nearly three years and still cannot return home,” an aid worker told SHAN.

He added that job opportunities are extremely limited and donors are scarce. “They asked for food assistance about two weeks ago. We have no donors yet, and they need help even to buy basic items like rice, cooking oil, and salt,” he said.

Although military council troops and PNA forces reportedly control their home villages, the displaced have not been allowed to return. In addition, since August, restrictions on foreign product imports have led to shortages of medicines and children’s diapers in Pang Laung Township.

Aid organizations say urgent support is needed to prevent further hardship among the displaced population.