Internal conflict and communal violence displaced a further 166,000 people in Burma in 2012, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country to “at least 450,000 people,” according to a global report released by the Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre. The group said inter-communal violence in Arakan State displaced 125,000 people, while the ethnic conflict in Kachin State, which escalated in late 2012, caused more than 75,000 civilians to flee, the report said. In southeastern Burma, where Karen and Shan rebels groups have skirmished with government forces despite having signed ceasefires with Naypyidaw, there are some 250,000 protracted IDPs.
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