Christians flee fresh violence in Myanmar’s Kachin state
More than a thousand people, most of them Catholics and Baptists, have fled their village in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state after fresh fighting erupted between the military forces and ethnic Kachin rebels. Those who fled belong to some 160 families from Nan San Yang village, located barely 20 km from Laiza town, which is the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) close to the China border.
The fighting began on July 3 and those who fled have taken refuge in the Catholic Church compound at Wai Mai town. Gam Aung, who led the villagers from Nan San Yang, said more villagers were likely to flee as reports of violence continued to pour in on July 6.
“We escaped with only a few clothes, leaving behind our homes and livestock. Hope we might be able to return to our village in a week or two,” Aung told UCA News on July 7.
Amid the uncertainty, those who fled the village were worried about how long the church groups and local authorities will continue to feed them.“We will certainly need food, medicines and arrangements for school children for a longer term,” Aung said.
Father Vincent Shan Lum, the parish priest of Nam San Yang village, said he fled with the villagers on July 3 and they may need to stay in the church compound for weeks amid the tense situation.Shan Lum who is staying in the clergy center in Myitkyina told UCA News on July 6 that this was the second time the villagers from Nam San Yang had escaped the violence.
“They were earlier displaced due to fighting between the military and KIA in June 2011, and spent years in camps in Wai Maw township until their return to the village in December 2018,” he said.
Military attacks have been regularly witnessed in the predominantly Christian region of Kachin state ever since independence from Britain as the KIA has been fighting for autonomy and self-determination.The latest round of violence was triggered by the military junta reportedly sending reinforcements near Laiza town.
The military regime though did not make any public statement about resuming fighting with the rebels in Kachin state.But the KIA on July 4 urged the people to be vigilant as there was a tense situation in the area due to the arrival of reinforcements.
“More fighting is expected if the military doesn’t withdraw the troops. So people need to prepare for food supplies, such as rice, for a longer term,” Colonel Naw Bu, spokesperson of KIA told Myitkyina News Journal, a Kachin-based news outlet, on July 6.
