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Displaced by continued fighting in Myanmar’s Shan state

Villagers seek shelter in Buddhist monasteries and nursing homes, as ethnic conflicts continue in Myanmar’s north.

Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
After fighting broke out near their homes, pupils from Thawt San school moved to Thi Ho Buddhist monastery, in Kyaukme, to keep up with their studies before final exams. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
By Brennan O'Connor
Published On 30 Mar 201630 Mar 2016
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Shan state, Myanmar – As  Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party prepares to take power on April 1, and Htin Kyaw, Myanmar’s first civilan president is sworn in after more than five decades of military rule, fighting in Myanmar’s northern Shan State continues, despite a nationwide ceasefire agreement signed by the previous government last October.

Thousands of villagers have been displaced as a result. 

The Ta’Ang National Liberation Army and other ethnic groups have been fighting against government forces for decades, seeking greater autonomy and federalism.

The ceasefire deal excluded many groups, including the TNLA, and it was “dismissed by some as a last-ditch publicity stunt by the government before an election they knew they were highly unlikely to win against the National League for Democracy party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Meanwhile, clashes continue to be reported between government forces and other fighting groups in tit-for-tat attacks, while the civilian population continues to suffer. 

Aung San Suu Kyi had not participated in the ceasefire agreement, but in January she announced her party’s intention to bring about peace in the country by striving for an “an all-inclusive ceasefire agreement”.

Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
Pupils gather for a meal at Thi Ho Buddhist monastery in the government-controlled town of Kyaukme, in Shan state. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
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Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
A displaced family rests at Aung Su Pan Monastery in Kyaukme, in northern Shan State, where thousands have sought refuge from fighting. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
With 70 percent of the population living off of subsistence farming, the fighting has increased food shortages and led to an increase in child deaths. In 2014, Myanmar, with 45 deaths per 1,000 infants under the age of one, was the 48th worst country in the world for infant mortality, according to the CIA World Factbook. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
In some areas fighting has stopped, allowing villagers to return to their homes, but fresh clashes have prevented others from going back. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
Bringing the fighting in the north that has gone on since 2011 first challenges facing Aung San Suu Yi's new National League for Democracy government when it takes power in April. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
Women and children are worst hit by the fighting in northern Shan State. Clashes between the Shan State Army-South and Ta’Ang National Liberation Army that forced this family to seek refuge at the Aung Su Pan in Kyaukme monastery has abated. But fresh fighting threatens to prolong the crisis. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
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Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
Many hope the new government will be able to resolve the decades-long ethnic crisis. This child, is one of 228 people from Thawt San village taking shelter at the Aung Su Pan monastery. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
Villagers of various ethnic groups have sought shelter at Bobour Yakadar nursing home, in Kyaukme. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
Volunteers from the Myitta Society, in Lashio, take fingerprints of villagers seeking refuge at Aung Su Pan Monastery, Kyaukme. After fighting escalated last month community support has increased but some aid groups wonder whether they will be able to keep it up. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
Weeks before exams pupils from Thawt San School found themselves in the line of fire after fighting broke out near their villages. Now living with their school principal and several teachers at Thi Ho Buddhist monastery, they try to keep up their studies in makeshift classrooms. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
Perched between the stupas of Thi Ho Buddhist monastery, pupils from Thawt San village school study for exams, having moved to the monastery to escape fighting. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
There are 587,000 internally displaced people in Myanmar, according to UN figures. Ongoing fighting has hindered the the transition to democratic rule in the country. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]
Dilemma for the new NLD government/Please Do Not Use
A woman who fled the fighting with her child talks on the phone to her husband who is working at a jade mine in Kachin State, to reassure him that the family has reached the safety of Thi Ho Buddhist monastery, in Kyaukme. The monastery has taken in about 300 villagers. [Brennan O'Connor/Al Jazeera]


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