Intense clashes between Burma Army and Arakan Army (AA) forces in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township have sent more than 700 people fleeing to the town of Paletwa since last Friday.

The clashes, which occurred seven miles from the town center on June 7-8, forced residents of five villages— Peinnae Tapin, Thae Machaung The, Kyauk Pyin Htawng, Kywae Thawng and Lawng Tin—to seek refuge in Paletwa.

A total of 722 people from 143 families have fled to Paletwa since late last week. Some of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are staying with relatives, while others are sheltering at the local Anglican church or at the offices of the National League for Democracy and the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Local volunteers and donors have responded to the emergency by giving each displaced family an allowance of 2,000 kyat per day and two cans of rice per person.

“Yesterday, we received a 500,000-kyat donation from the Baptist church, and the Chin State government has provided 500 bags of rice. We provide assistance by allocating donation funds and supplies,” said Kyaw Khin, a volunteer with the Paletwa Social Volunteer Association.

“Some of the IDPs arrived without clothes. They need clothes. We don’t know how long they will have to stay here, but if it’s very long, there will be many difficulties,” he told Khonumthung news. According to the volunteer association’s statistics, there were 2,640 IDPs in Paletwa Township before these latest clashes. The figure is now well over 3,000.