One hundred and thirty new Kachin internally displaced persons (IDPs) arrived yesterday at refugee camps in Laiza, the capital of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), near the China border in Kachin State, according to IDP relief groups.
All are villagers of Ja Ing Yang and villages in the Shadan Pa Valley, in southern Kachin State and had to flee from the fighting between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) which started Thursday morning, according to the KIO’s IDP and Refugee Relief Committee (IRRC), based in Laiza.
Salang Kaba Doi Pyi Sa, head of IRRC told the Kachin News Group, “Among newly arriving IDPs, some are working in banana and orange plantations in Ja Ing Yang and the Shadan Pa Valley. Previously, they were denied shelter in Laiza refugee camps.”
The Shadan Pa Valley, is the largest banana plantation rented by Chinese businessmen. It is situated 15 miles south of the Kachin capital, Myitkyina.
Many workers in the plantation are from Waingmaw Township, workers said.
Doi Pyi Sa said more IDPs from the two places are arriving at Laiza and they are being arranged in four refugee camps.
There are over 16,000 IDPs in Laiza refugee camps and other camps in KIO-controlled areas near the China border in Kachin State, according to IRRC.
