More than 600 people have been displaced by indiscriminate shelling by the regime and fighting with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Momauk Township since late October.

According to reports, the Burma Army (BA) is shelling the township daily in Bhamo District of Kachin State, where it’s attacking the KIA and the People’s Defence Force, forcing villagers to seek refuge in Buddhist monasteries in Momauk town and the Shwe Pyi Tha displaced camp in Thone Mai Kwet Thit village.

Sai Pyone Cho, who was displaced by the fighting and is helping villagers who taken refuge in Lawka Maha Zayti and Nithawka Rama monasteries in Momauk, said most people have fled to the town because it’s closer than Thone Mai Kwet Thit.

More than 100 people went to the camp in the village, where the World Food Programme and Garuna Social Volunteer Team are providing some assistance. But in Momauk, where 600 people have sought refuge, the groups have only recently started delivering food.

“These people don’t have enough to eat and some of the men are trying to find work as day labourers,” a Momauk man who is helping them has told NMG.

The junta has been attacking the KIA on Lon Ja Mountain since 20 October, after a key BA commander died after stepping on a hidden landmine in the area.

Villagers were busy harvesting crops when the fighting began, and they fear their hard work will be undone if the violence in the area continues. The volunteers in Momauk aren’t sure how they continue to provide for the people without further support from outside aid groups.