More than 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships, northern Shan State, are in urgent need of food and medicine after being displaced for over a month by clashes between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and junta troops.

Aid workers said that most of the displaced fled from Nawng Ping village tract in Kyaukme Township and are now sheltering in Pone Woe village, Hsipaw, and Lashio. They face worsening shortages of rice, medicine, and other essentials as fighting continues and travel routes remain blocked.

“It has been over a month since we were displaced, and our food is almost gone. With the roads blocked, it is hard to buy rice. Every village is full of displaced people. More people are fleeing from villages like Nar-Aike-Khant and Sa Khan Thar,” a woman helping IDPs in Nawng Ping told SHAN.

Reports indicate that over 9,000 people are now living in more than 40 displacement camps in Kyaukme, with another 500 staying in hillside huts. Buddhist monks in Pone Woe village are leading efforts to secure emergency relief.

Displaced residents said they have been unable to return home since the junta regained control of Nawng Ping and nearby villages. Many homes were reportedly looted, leaving families with nothing to rebuild their lives.

“We still cannot go back to Nawng Ping village. Almost all the houses have been broken into and looted. Motorbikes and furniture were stolen. Soldiers are still stationed at the police station,” a local man told SHAN.

In Hsipaw Township, more than 2,000 displaced people from Nawng Ping and Kyaukme are sheltering in nine temporary camps, including Hsut Lan, Nawng Ain, and Hko Long villages. Local charities say they are running out of supplies.

On September 21, two displaced men from Nawng Pyit village in Kyaukme were killed after stepping on a landmine while attempting to retrieve belongings from their homes.

Currently, junta Division 11 troops stationed in Nawng Ping are firing heavy weapons along the Union Highway and advancing toward Sa Khan Thar village, about seven miles from Kyaukme, forcing more civilians to flee.