AN appeal for warm clothing and adequate shelter has been issued for more than 2,000 war refugees living at camps in southern Kachin State where overnight temperatures have been falling to five degrees Celsius.
Father Khar Li from the Manwinegyi camp, one of several for internally displaced people in Mansi Township near Bhamo, said the onset of winter had made living conditions worse for those displaced by fighting between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army.
He said many of people in the camp had been forced by the fighting to leave their villages quickly and had only been able to take one change of clothing.
“There is no way to get sufficient relief for the people in the camp,” Father Khar Li said.
Ko Naw Dint, from a Roman Catholic group which is aiding camp residents, said the IDPs were receiving assistance from individuals and organizations in Manwinegyi, Mansi and Bhamo townships but it was only enough to meet their basic living needs.
A Kachin State minister, U Lajun Ngan Seng, told Mizzima on December 18 that the government was unable to provide relief to the camps because they were in border regions that were difficult to reach.
The IDPs have been living in the camps since fighting erupted in Mansi Township in October.
