the coup junta blocks the access of humanitarian aid

The civil conflict is spreading to Rakhine state, where the Arakan Army, the local ethnic militia, had signed a truce with the army in 2020. Once again, the civilian population is caught in the middle: in the last month it has increased the number of displaced people and people in need of help.

Yangon ( / Agencies) – The Burmese coup junta has ordered international humanitarian agencies to suspend their activities in Rakhine state because access is currently prevented as a result of clashes between the Tatmadaw troops – the Burmese army that last year overthrew in a coup the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi – and the Arakan Army (Arakan Army, Aa).

The provision was communicated through an internal memorandum addressed to an organization working in Rakhine, and states that access to Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Rathedaung, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Myebon townships has been suspended since yesterday “until further notice.” “.

In August, an upsurge in fighting began in the western Burmese state and in the Paletwa township in neighboring Chin state, despite the fact that the Arakan Army had signed a truce with the Burmese army in November 2020. In the current civil conflict, the Tatmadaw is confronting the People’s Defense Forces – the armed wing of the Government of National Unity in exile – and the ethnic militias of Myanmar, which in some States have a historic presence. In recent times, the participation of AAs has also been increasing.

The blockade of the circulation and distribution of aid was carried out after the Arakan Army announced that it would check all the vehicles for security reasons, obviously trying to prevent the infiltration of the coup troops: “We must carry out these checks because there is a potential for more violent fighting across Rakhine given the increasing intensity of fighting in Rakhine and Paletwa,” the AA announced.

At the beginning of the month, the United Nations had also pointed out the possibility of an escalation of this type. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the recent clashes are causing an increase in the number of displaced people: according to data updated to September 5, 2,270 families (about 9,600 people) have left their homes due to the war, bringing to 84,000 the number of displaced people in the region in need of humanitarian aid. Most of them have been in this condition since the time of the clashes in Rakhine between the AA and the army, from 2018 to 2020.