Over 50,000 residents evicted from villages around Rakhine State’s capital, Sittwe, after a massacre by Myanmar junta troops in May, are now facing starvation and illness in overcrowded temporary camps.
Troops slaughtered nearly 80 civilians in Byian Phyu village in late May, then forcibly relocated residents of some 20 villages on the outskirts of Sittwe into the town in early July.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun claimed Arakan Army (AA) fighters disguised as villagers had attacked junta positions from the villages with homemade rockets.
Observers said the civilians were evicted to serve as human shields against attacks by the ethnic army, which has taken control of most of the state since launching an offensive late last year.
The evicted villagers have taken refuge at 26 monasteries in Sittwe town after junta authorities failed to provide them with accommodation.
A Buddhist monk from a monastery where villagers are sheltering described scenes of ‘severe hardship.’
“In the first month after they arrived, there was no one to help them, so we monks helped as much as we could. Both displaced villagers and monks went hungry. Now, the WFP [World Food Program] is providing us with some rice.”
One displaced villager said: “We are starving. We cannot leave the refuge and there is no one helping us. We ate banana plants growing in the monastery compound, but they are all gone now.”
Evicted villagers are also suffering from skin problems and diarrhea due to the overcrowded conditions.
“There are many people here. Men sleep in the monastery while women and children sleep downstairs. The space is tight, and if one gets sick, others also fall ill,” said one woman at the monastery.
The villagers are receiving basic healthcare from the Myanmar Red Cross Society and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
“We are suffering from every hardship possible,” said another displaced woman. “We were driven out of our village without any belongings. We are only just surviving on meager food. We are also concerned about family members who have been imprisoned [by junta authorities]. We don’t have any money to visit them. We are living in hell.”
The regime detained over 300 residents of Byian Phyu after the massacre, jailing around 100 for three years under Section 17 (1) of the Unlawful Association Act for allegedly having ties to the AA. Some 30 elderly detainees have been released while the remaining 170 reportedly remain in custody.
Other evicted villagers were dumped in Sittwe with only the clothes on their backs.
The AA has seized 10 townships in Rakhine State since launching an offensive last November. The regime responded by blockading the western state, cutting off trade with other parts of the country and restricting the flow of goods into Rakhine. This has resulted in shortages and price hikes.
The regime began erecting a fence around Sittwe in August while planting landmines and naval mines around the coastal town. Residents still trapped in Sittwe are being subjected to arbitrary arrest, according to town residents.
