Chin World / BNI Online | October 30, 2018

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Chin State’s Paletwa Township have been forced to find work in nearby villages to earn a living due to food shortage caused by fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Tatmadaw, the IDP relief team’s secretary Ko Kyaw Aung said.

“Now, they are finding work through their relatives and in villages. They have to survive with what they earn from there. Religious organizations have made some donations, but not every place receive them,” said Ko Kyaw Aung.

The Chin State Minister of Municipal Affairs U Soe Htet has earlier told the Chin World that the General Administrator has been compiling a list of IDPs based on the lists that are submitted by the village groups in Paletwa Township and assisting them as necessary.

However, Ko Kyaw Aung said the government has only provided aids when the IDPs started fleeing from their villages and it has not provided assistance since then.

The IDPs are currently taking refuge in Shin Let Wa, Mee Zar, Kin Ta Lin, and Sin Baung Pyin areas in Paletwa Township.

According to the Chin State government’s list, 1,331 IDPs are living in Paletwa Township but the Chin Human Rights Organization’s report states that there are over 6,000 IDPs including those that have fled to India.