About 5,000 displaced people (IDPs) sheltering in Aungban (Aungpan) Town in Shan State’s Kalaw Township are in a dire situation following the cancellation of US aid in February 2025.
Their situation was already dire and they were receiving insufficient aid, but since the cancellation of all aid from the US in February they have not been receiving any outside support. They are currently in urgent need of food and medical assistance.
After October 2023, heavy fighting that was part of Operation 1027 in northern Shan State and Operation 1111 in Karenni State caused people to flee their homes and seek shelter in Aungban Town. IDPs continued to arrive in the town with a large influx also arriving when Lashio town was attacked in July 2024.
At one time there were tens of thousands of IDPs sheltering in Aungban Town but in October 2024 they started returning to their homes until, by March 2025, there were only about 5,000 IDPs remaining in the town.
Those 5,000 IDPs are from the border areas of Shan and Karenni states, Lashio Township in northern Shan State, and Pinlaung Township in southern Shan State. They cannot return home because their homes have been destroyed or because there is ongoing fighting where they live, according to an aid worker helping them.
He said: “There are still a significant number of IDPs remaining in Aungban. Some returned to check on their homes, only to find they had been completely destroyed, and are now sheltering back in Aungban. So far, there have been no reports in Aungban of junta authorities forcing IDPs to return, unlike in other towns.”
He explained that the IDPs stranded in Aungban Town, who are staying at monasteries, relatives homes and rented accommodation, are facing severe difficulties due to a lack of employment opportunities and insufficient donor support.
He said: “There are still IDPs sheltering in the town's monasteries, struggling to make a living through difficult and makeshift means. Some sell goods on the streets, while others seek day labour work, but jobs are scarce. There are no donors either. We are taking the lead in helping the IDPs, relying on donations from the local community and friends.”
Fighting between the junta and a Karenni resistance coalition is ongoing in the southern Shan State towns of Pekon and Mobye, which border Karenni State and in parts of Loikaw Township in Karenni State.
