Mro ethnic women with children displaced from the surge of fighting between ethnic armed rebel group of the Arakan Army and government troops take refuge at a compound of a Buddhist pagoda are seen during a government-organized visit for journalists in Buthidaung township in the restive Rakhine state. Photo courtesy of Mizzima
YANGON, April 5 (NNN-MIZZIMA) – The United States is deeply concerned about the harm to civilians of the ongoing conflict in Rakhine and Chin States between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military, according to a press release dated 2 March from the US Embassy in Yangon.
The US government is calling on all parties to renew their efforts to end the fighting and work toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
“We are very concerned that government authorities are not allowing full humanitarian access to more than 17,000 civilians currently displaced in Rakhine State as a result of this conflict,” the report says. “While we recognize that authorities are allowing food assistance to reach some displaced people, significant humanitarian gaps remain.”
Access restrictions on humanitarian and development organizations have prevented at least 95,000 additional civilians from receiving essential services, such as health care, education, and clean water, in five Rakhine State townships since January 2019. Humanitarian access has also been a consistent obstacle in Kachin and northern Shan States, where more than 100,000 people continue to be internally displaced. We call on the government to expand humanitarian access to respond fully to the increasing needs on the ground.
The US government says it urges the Myanmar government and military to provide reliable access for humanitarian actors across Rakhine, Kachin, and northern Shan States so they can resume their ongoing efforts, provide critical assistance, and evaluate needs to improve the lives of all communities.
