Around 1,000 displaced persons were forced to flee from the internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Sunprabon Township, Kachin State after artillery shells fell near the camps, according to the IDPs.
Local IDP Daw Hnaw Hnaw said artillery shells from the clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) fell near N’dup Yang, N’Htan Zup, and Lord Mai Yang IDP camps on January 22.
“The artillery shells fell near the entrance of N’dup Yang and N’Htan Zup camp. Canons were fired near the wharf in N Htan Dup near the Mali River. N’Htan Dup and Lord Mai Yang are only separated by the river. People from the camp have fled. They have to stay beside the road. The number of people is around one thousand,” she said.
The IDPs said the artillery shells have been fired near the IDP camp after the Tatmadaw announced the plan to clear the gold mines in Sunprabon.
“At first, they (the Tatmadaw) said they will clear the miners and equipment at the gold mines. Later, they started shooting in the direction of the villages and IDP camps. They expanded the territory. The KIO (Kachin Independence Organization) post is nearby. Maybe they wanted to enter that area,” said Daw Hnaw Hnaw.
State Hluttaw MP U Zaw Dwe from Sunprabon Township said the Tatmadaw has been clearing illegal gold mines that are operating without license from the government.
“Some Chinese businessmen have been running illegal gold mines along the Ayeyarwaddy River without the government’s permission in Sunprabon. A lot of gold can be found in Mali Yang area.
So, they have been mining the gold with gold rafts and bulldozers. Heavy weapons have been fired at them to clear the territory. Administrators from my constituency have been asked to guide them in their operation,” said U Zaw Dwe.
Some miners from the gold mine have fled to villages in the area and some fled to their homes after the area was pounded by heavy weapons, he continued.
The Kachin Independence Organization/Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA)’s information officer Colonel Naw Bu said the clashes took place near N’dup Yang IDP camp on January 22.
“Clashes took place near N’dup Yang IDP camp in the northeast of Sunprabon. It took place at the western bank of the Mali River,” he said.
The Tatmadaw and the KIA have been fighting nearly every day in this area since January 16, according to the IDPs.
Colonel Naw Bu said the Tatmadaw and the battalions under the KIA Division 1 have been fighting sporadically in Sunprabon Township since the middle of this month.
The KIO/KIA said it has clashed at least five times with the Tatmadaw within this month.
