Conflicts disrupt humanitarian aid delivery by U.N.

BANGKOK — The U.N. agency coordinating humanitarian aid said armed conflict and insecurity in large areas of Myanmar are impeding its operations.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said northern Shan, Kachin and Kayin (Karen) states and the Bago Region are areas where conflict in one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries has complicated its task.

“Constraints include road blockages, increased presence of security personnel and restrictions on movement,” the agency said in an update on the humanitarian situation.

The need for assistance has been increasing. The report estimated that more than 50,000 people have been displaced from their homes since December, in addition to an existing population of over 300,000 internally displaced people.

OCHA provides support to Myanmar in the areas of health, water and sanitation, shelter, nutrition, food security, protection from harm and education in emergency situations.

Myanmar for decades has suffered from insecurity and armed conflict between the government and ethnic minority groups seeking greater autonomy. There has been an upsurge in fighting in recent months, especially since the military’s seizure of power on Feb. 1 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Some of the ethnic guerrilla armies have allied themselves with the citybased popular movement against the new ruling junta. The bigger ethnic groups supporting the protest movement are the Kachin in the north and the Karen in the south. The guerrilla forces of both groups have engaged government troops on the ground and have also been the targets of air strikes by Myanmar’s military.

“The escalating conflict, including attacks or threats of attacks against transport infrastructures, including vehicles, roads and bridges, significantly increases safety concerns for humanitarian actors, compounding access challenges,” the OCHA report said.

“Blanket restrictions on access to populations in areas controlled by nonstate armed actors remain in place,” it said. OCHA said 40,000 people have been newly displaced in southeastern Myanmar by intensified fighting between the government and guerrillas of the Karen National Liberation Army, and by “indiscriminate attacks” by Myanmar’s army on civilian areas. In Kachin State, around 5,800 people have been displaced since fighting flared in early March.

Dawei Watch / AFP / Getty Images Coup opponents join a rally in Dawei against the military junta that seized power. Deadly confrontations between the military and ethnic minority groups have increased in recent months.