• Burmese
Friday, July 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Last Group of Awng Lawt Villagers Rescued from Forest

Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint by Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint
May 31, 2018
in News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
A group of Awng Lawt villagers prepare to move to a shelter after leaving the forest on May 9. / Father Naw Latt

A group of Awng Lawt villagers prepare to move to a shelter after leaving the forest on May 9. / Father Naw Latt

7.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON — The last of more than 1,100 residents of Awng Lawt village in Kachin State’s Tanai Township known by aid groups to have been trapped in the forest by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were rescued this week, according to the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC).

Some of the villagers reported that additional IDPs remain in the forest, according to aid groups, but The Irrawaddy has been unable to confirm the reports. Aid workers said those people may have opted to travel to relatives’ homes independently.

“All those [from Awng Lawt] trapped by fighting have come out of the forest. No one is left,” said Hkali, a KBC official with responsibility for social affairs.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar People Skeptical of Junta’s Promises of Election, Peace

Myanmar People Skeptical of Junta’s Promises of Election, Peace

July 7, 2025
1.2k
Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

July 31, 2024
3.2k
Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

February 21, 2024
1.8k

Between April 29 and this week, a total of 1,135 people were evacuated from the forest. They are taking shelter at churches in Myitkyina, Hpakant and Tanai, said Seng Nu, program director of Karuna Mission Social Solidarity, a civil society organization helping displaced persons in Kachin State.

Residents of Awng Lawt first fled en masse into the forest after artillery shells landed near their village on April 11. Among them were pregnant women, elderly and disabled persons, and young children.

They moved around the forest on foot for about three weeks before finally being taken to safety in groups starting in late April.

“Some of the displaced persons said that some people are still trapped in the forest. Some of these might have opted to go to the houses of relatives, rather than the camps. For the time being, our list only includes those taking shelter in the camps,” Seng Nu said.

Naw Tawng, vice chairman of a Tanai-based Christian committee to help displaced persons, told The Irrawaddy that he could not independently confirm the reports that some displaced persons are still trapped in the forests.

Larger groups have reached camps, but smaller groups might have gone to the houses of their relatives, he suggested.

“We don’t know about the latest developments. But no one is thinking of going back to their homes. They feel it is safer to stay at temporary shelters in churches,” Naw Tawng said.

The clashes continued into the last week of April. At that time, the Tatmadaw distributed leaflets to displaced persons urging them to go back to their homes, and saying that it would provide food supplies for them. However, the IDPs dared not return for fear of being trapped in the forest again.

The Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) launched attacks in Tanai in June last year, targeting illegal gold and amber mines that are an important source of funds for the KIA.

Clashes in April displaced around 6,000 people in Tanai, Mogaung, Injangyang and Hpakant townships. More than 100,000 people have been displaced since the collapse of a ceasefire between the Tatmadaw and the KIA in 2011.

Though camps for internally displaced persons have been opened in other townships in Kachin State, Tanai authorities have refused to permit such camps, saying they negatively affect the image of the town. Displaced persons have therefore been forced to seek temporary shelter in church compounds.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Conflict
Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint

Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations
Politics

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

by The Irrawaddy
July 31, 2024
3.2k

Coup-maker Min Aung Hlaing says he needs another six months to impose stability and security, and compile accurate voter lists,...

Read moreDetails
Assamese Journalist Shines Light on One of Asia’s Murkiest Conflicts
Books

Assamese Journalist Shines Light on One of Asia’s Murkiest Conflicts

by Bertil Lintner
January 8, 2024
2.6k

A new book by Rajeev Bhattacharyya charts the history of ULFA, which continues to battle the Indian government, including from...

Read moreDetails
Firefight Erupts as Myanmar Junta Troops Halt PNLO Arms Convoy in Shan State
Burma

Firefight Erupts as Myanmar Junta Troops Halt PNLO Arms Convoy in Shan State

by Brian Wei
January 23, 2024
2.4k

The PNLO burned the weapons rather than hand them over. The group’s leader said the incident would not affect his...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Northern Alliance ‘Not Interested’ in Empty Peace Talks With Junta
Interview

Myanmar’s Northern Alliance ‘Not Interested’ in Empty Peace Talks With Junta

by The Irrawaddy
July 27, 2023
2.2k

A representative from the ethnic armed coalition sheds light on its latest meeting with the military regime.

Read moreDetails
Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade
Myanmar-China Watch

Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

by The Irrawaddy
February 21, 2024
1.8k

Wang Yubo’s visit to Naypyitaw is the first by a senior Chinese official since Beijing brokered a ceasefire between ethnic...

Read moreDetails
A silhouetted solider from one of Myanmar's ethnic armed group. / The Irrawaddy
Specials

Timeline: 70 Years of Ethnic Armed Resistance Movements in Myanmar

by Nyein Nyein
February 1, 2019
16.5k

Since the Insein Battle of 1949, Myanmar has been a battleground for scores of ethnic armed groups each carrying out...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Smoke is seen on Myanmar's side of the border as an exhausted Rohingya refugee is carried to shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, in September, 2017. Myanamar is currently considering signing an MOU with the UNHCR and UNDP on repatriating the refugees. / Reuters

Chinese Whispers in Yangon as Myanmar Weighs Rohingya Deal With UN

A soldier stands near the Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, near Rakhine State, Myanmar, during a trip by UN envoys to the region April 29, 2018. / Reuters

UN and Myanmar Agree Outline of Rohingya Return Deal, No Details

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

3 days ago
1.3k
Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

19 hours ago
983

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Karen Fighters Push for Myanmar Junta Outpost on Thai Border

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.