UN Concerned Over 1,700 Kachin Villagers Trapped in Conflict Zone

28 October 2013

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Burma Ashok Nigam has said he is “deeply concerned” about 1,700 ethnic Kachin villagers who have been trapped in a conflict zone in Mansi Township, southern Kachin State. Hostilities broke out between Kachin Independence Army (KIA) units and the Burma Army on 22 Oct. near the villages of Nam Lim Pa and Mung Ding Pa. The UN estimates that 1,200 internally displaced people and some 500 civilians, mostly children, are sheltering in a church in Mung Ding Pa. “Hostilities must cease and access to the displaced people for humanitarian partners be granted immediately,” Nigam stated.