2,000 people displaced by fighting (IDPs) sheltering in Homalin Town in Sagaing Region since the end of 2023, urgently need assistance, including food and medical supplies.
They were displaced by fighting from Shwe Pyi Town and the surrounding villages in Homalin Township after resistance forces launched an offensive against Shwe Pyi Town that took the town on 22 November 2023, according to an aid worker helping them in Homalin Town.
He said to NMG: “The primary need right now is temporary shelters. With winter already here, there's an increased urgency to stockpile essential food items like rice, oil, salt, and dry goods. Women also require menstrual products. The most critical needs at this moment are food, tents, and medicines.”
He explained that most of the IDPs sheltering in Homalin Town came from about 15 villages in Homalin township. They are staying in monasteries or relatives homes in downtown Homalin, others have rented houses in Homalin Town.
During the frequent fighting in the township between resistance forces and junta forces aided by allied fighters from the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA), the junta often blocks the Chindwin River, sometimes for months at a time. It is the main route for trade from Monywa, the largest city in Sagaing Region, to Homalin Township.
This has meant that commodity prices in Homalin Township have risen steeply, making matters even worse for the IDPs.
The aforementioned aid worker said: “Prices for everything are extremely high these days. The hardships of displacement are already overwhelming, and their [the IDPs] economic situation is severely strained. Blockades of water and land routes imposed by the junta have further driven prices up.”
A Homalin Town resident said: “Prices of all commodities have gone up. A bag of rice [approximately 49kg] now costs around 300,000 MMK, and both petrol and diesel prices have surged. Petrol is now around 15,000 MMK per litre. As transport costs rise, commodity prices follow suit, and prices are constantly changing, sometimes even from day to day. When routes are closed, goods are occasionally imported by air, further driving up prices. Town residents are struggling, but war-displaced people are suffering even more. Some are even struggling financially to access essential healthcare at clinics.”
The price of rice and petrol have almost doubled. Previously, a bag of rice in Homalin Township cost about 150,000 to 180,000 MMK and one litre of petrol cost 8,000 MMK.
