Many internally displaced people (IDPs) at Bangkok IDP camp in western Pekon Township in Karenni State are in urgent need of assistance, following a 5 September 2024 junta airstrike on the camp.
The airstrike, which killed nine people, including a two-year-old child, and injured about 20 other people also destroyed about 60 of the approximately 165 IDP shelters in the camp and the camp school. IDPs whose shelters were destroyed are currently staying in temporary accommodations with relatives and friends in nearby villages.
According to aid workers helping the IDPs they require assistance with the most urgent need being new accommodation for the IDPs who lost their shelters.
Secretary No. 2 of the Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC), the provisional revolutionary government of Karenni State, U Banyar, said that the IEC and other civil society organisations (CSOs) are currently providing humanitarian assistance to the IDPs in need.
He explained: "Some departments under the IEC, along with women’s and children’s aid organisations, and other humanitarian groups, are doing everything they can to assist the IDPs. Other civil society organisations are also doing their best to help them.”
An aid worker suggested that the destruction from the airstrike might be so great that the IDP camp may have to be moved.
They said: "After the airstrike, it's possible that the Bangkok IDP camp may need to relocate, though we’re still unsure about the date and location. If the camp moves, we’ll need to build hundreds of shelters, which will be costly. Fundraising efforts have already started to purchase tarpaulin sheets for temporary shelters, along with other necessary items.”
Aid workers and the IDPs are calling for donations as money is urgently needed to rebuild shelters and build a new school.