The Military Council forced over 600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return home as three IDP camps were dismantled in Kyauktaw Township, Rakhine State, according to IDPs.
The IDP camps that were dismantled are Mahamuni, Shan Ywar and Thein Kyaung in Kyauktaw Township.
On March 21, administration officials reportedly held a meeting at the township administration office, during which they decided to dismantle the three IDP camps on March 31 and force the IDPs to return to their homes on the same day.
An IDP from one of the three camps reported that officials came and talked about these decisions with the IDPs in the camps.
“ Yesterday, a meeting was held at the Kyauktaw township administration office, and the IDP camps were ordered to be demolished. The IDPs were also ordered to return to their homes the same day,” he said.
According to an IDP from the Mahamuni IDP camp, the Military Council has been pressuring them to return home, despite their fears of doing so. IDPs are concerned about the lack of guarantee for their safety and well-being after repatriation.
“ If we return home, we are afraid that the fighting will resume. We don’t want to hear the sound of gunfire again. We’re concerned that our livelihoods won’t be sustainable. We’re not ready to go back, but we have to. Some people are pressuring us to return,” she said.
Of the 443 families from Mahamuni IDP camp, 426 families are set to return home, while the remaining 17 families will be relocated to the nearby Nyaung Chaung IDP camp, which has not yet been dismantled.
Thein Kyaung IDP camp had a total of 26 households, of which 9 will be returning to their hometowns, and the remaining 17 families will be relocated to the nearby Thein Pyin Kyaung IDP camp. In Shan Ywar IDP camp, all 43 families are set to return to their homes.
A member of the Kyauktaw Military Council reported that over 1,170 IDPs from more than 10 IDP camps in the area have been registered for repatriation. However, due to budgetary constraints, only 644 IDP families are currently being repatriated.
The Military Council has said that IDPs who want to return home will receive 600,000 Kyats per household and three months of food support.
“ The government did not reach the required budget to facilitate the repatriation and so the remaining IDPs will have to wait until next year. So only around 600 households have been forced back,” he said.
During January and February, Union Ministers of the Military Council visited IDP camps in Rakhine and encouraged IDPs to return home. After that, some IDP camps in Myebon, Minbya, Mrauk U and Ponnagyun townships were closed and IDPs were forcibly sent back to their homes.
Even after being repatriated, the Military Council has not cleared the remaining weapons and landmines near the community, and they continue to be stationed near the village. As a result, the repatriated IDPs are struggling to earn a livelihood independently, and face challenges in their daily lives.
Regarding this issue, Rakhine state government spokesperson U Hla Thein was contacted by phone several times, but he did not answer the phone. In Rakhine, the number of IDPs has exceeded 200,000 due to the fighting between the Military Council troops and the Arakan Army (AA) in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022.
Currently there are still more than 60,000 IDPs in the camps.
