The junta and junta-aligned militia are stealing humanitarian aid sent by international aid organisations to internally displaced people (IDPs) in southern Shan State.
They have been confiscating aid meant for IDPs in southern Shan State under various pretexts, such as claiming they are collecting taxes. They have also been claiming that fees have to be paid to allow the aid through and pressuring the aid organisations to let them distribute the aid, according to the chairman of the Pa-O Youth Organisation (PYO), Khun Oo.
He said “Firstly, tolls are levied on aid materials at checkpoints, with the junta and militia charging fees based on the type of goods being transported. Furthermore, transporting aid usually requires permission from the junta, and it demands payment, claiming that issuing these permits comes with costs. The junta also insists that aid materials must be distributed under its management and restricts delivery to certain areas.”
During 2024, the junta-aligned militia only allowed aid to be distributed in certain areas if the aid agencies first gave the militia enough of the aid delivery to provide for its 150 members.
International organisations should stop working with the junta because it is is manipulating and exploiting international aid intended for IDPs, according to Ying Len Harn, a spokesperson for the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF).
She said: “International organisations should not continue to cooperate with the junta for any reason. Ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) now control large areas of territory. Rather than persisting in cooperating with the junta, the international community should seriously consider the option of sending cross-border aid to EAO-controlled areas.”
IDPs in southern Shan State are facing multiple challenges, including being denied shelter in junta controlled areas. Others require assistance because they have no homes to return to as they have been destroyed.
Also, in some areas of southern Shan State the junta is putting pressure on IDPs to return to their homes and threatening to confiscate the homes of those who do not return. As a result some IDPs have returned home even though there are still landmines in the vicinity of their houses that pose a serious danger to anyone who returns.
Fighting was still ongoing in the southern Shan State townships of Hsihseng, Pinlaung, Mawkmai, and Pekon during the second week of January 2025. The junta is also launching airstrikes and firing artillery into residential areas and setting homes on fire in those townships, according to the PYO.
