Photos: Myanmar’s ethnic Kachin flee fighting between rebels and army

By HT Correspondent

Updated On May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

With the focus on the plight of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, a civil war rages in the country’s north, pitting government forces against another of the country's minorities — the Kachins, mostly Christian. It's one of the longest-running wars on Earth, and has intensified dramatically in recent months, with at least 10,000 people been displaced since January alone, according to the United Nations. Residents in the state are fleeing homes and scattering into the jungle as the army’s bombs target areas under Kachin rebels.

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As the Myanmar army’s bombs started falling near her home in Kachin state, Nlam Numrang Doi (C) and her neighbors decided they had no choice but to grab what they could and scatter into the jungle. “We were in so much trouble, I couldn’t even swallow my food,” the 92-year-old recalled. “If we stayed in the village, we didn’t know what could happen to us.” (Min Kyi Thein / AP)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

As the Myanmar army’s bombs started falling near her home in Kachin state, Nlam Numrang Doi (C) and her neighbors decided they had no choice but to grab what they could and scatter into the jungle. “We were in so much trouble, I couldn’t even swallow my food,” the 92-year-old recalled. “If we stayed in the village, we didn’t know what could happen to us.” (Min Kyi Thein / AP)

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Displaced Kachin residents cross the Malikha river to escape the fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar government troops. Like many fleeing, Numrang climbed onto her grandson’s back and he carried her to a river where she and nearly 800 others boarded boats to reach the state capital, part of a wave of 6,800 people who have fled since a fresh government offensive began in early April. (Zau Ring Hpara / AFP File)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

Displaced Kachin residents cross the Malikha river to escape the fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar government troops. Like many fleeing, Numrang climbed onto her grandson’s back and he carried her to a river where she and nearly 800 others boarded boats to reach the state capital, part of a wave of 6,800 people who have fled since a fresh government offensive began in early April. (Zau Ring Hpara / AFP File)

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A Kachin rebel stands facing no man’s land outside the armed group’s headquarters in Kachin state. The onslaught is part of a decades-long government campaign to defeat Kachin rebels fighting for greater autonomy for the largely Christian minority group. The intensified offensive has renewed accusations that the army is creating a similar humanitarian crisis to the one spawned by its violence against Rohingya in the country’s west. (Esther Htusan / AP File)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

A Kachin rebel stands facing no man’s land outside the armed group’s headquarters in Kachin state. The onslaught is part of a decades-long government campaign to defeat Kachin rebels fighting for greater autonomy for the largely Christian minority group. The intensified offensive has renewed accusations that the army is creating a similar humanitarian crisis to the one spawned by its violence against Rohingya in the country’s west. (Esther Htusan / AP File)

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Displaced Kachin residents cross the Malikha river on a ferry near the border with China. “What we are seeing in Kachin state over the past few weeks is wholly unacceptable, and must stop immediately,” Yanghee Lee, the UN’s human rights expert for Myanmar, said last week. “Innocent civilians are being killed and injured, and hundreds of families are now fleeing for their lives.” (Zau Ring Hpara / AFP File)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

Displaced Kachin residents cross the Malikha river on a ferry near the border with China. “What we are seeing in Kachin state over the past few weeks is wholly unacceptable, and must stop immediately,” Yanghee Lee, the UN’s human rights expert for Myanmar, said last week. “Innocent civilians are being killed and injured, and hundreds of families are now fleeing for their lives.” (Zau Ring Hpara / AFP File)

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Kachin Independence Army fighters walk in a jungle path from Mu Du front line to Hpalap outpost in an area controlled by rebels. A 17-year cease-fire between the government and Kachin Independence Army was broken in 2011, when the army entered rebel territory and attacked one of their outposts. Since then, sporadic fierce combat has uprooted villagers and left hundreds of civilians dead. (Esther Htusan / AP File)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

Kachin Independence Army fighters walk in a jungle path from Mu Du front line to Hpalap outpost in an area controlled by rebels. A 17-year cease-fire between the government and Kachin Independence Army was broken in 2011, when the army entered rebel territory and attacked one of their outposts. Since then, sporadic fierce combat has uprooted villagers and left hundreds of civilians dead. (Esther Htusan / AP File)

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A view of Je Yang camp for refugees along the Chinese border in northern Kachin state, Myanmar. The fresh exodus is adding to the 100,000 people previously displaced in Kachin and neighboring Shan state, many of whom live in camps facing difficulty obtaining food and clean water due to military restrictions on aid. The government has denied virtually all access for the UN and international humanitarian groups. (Kachin Independence Organization via AP)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

A view of Je Yang camp for refugees along the Chinese border in northern Kachin state, Myanmar. The fresh exodus is adding to the 100,000 people previously displaced in Kachin and neighboring Shan state, many of whom live in camps facing difficulty obtaining food and clean water due to military restrictions on aid. The government has denied virtually all access for the UN and international humanitarian groups. (Kachin Independence Organization via AP)

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Ethnic Kachin Hkaraw Yaw, 102, sits in his hut in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State. Those fleeing their rural villages try to seek the relative safety of the state capital, Myitkyina, which is under government control, or rebel-held cities where they can seek aid from church groups. (Min Kyi Thein / AP)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

Ethnic Kachin Hkaraw Yaw, 102, sits in his hut in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State. Those fleeing their rural villages try to seek the relative safety of the state capital, Myitkyina, which is under government control, or rebel-held cities where they can seek aid from church groups. (Min Kyi Thein / AP)

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There were hopes that when Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government took power in 2016 that there might be a greater chance for peace. But Kachin support for Suu Kyi and her party has so far failed to pay a dividend, with the military still flexing its constitutionally ensured powers over security and border affairs. (Zhau Ring Hpara / AFP File)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

There were hopes that when Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government took power in 2016 that there might be a greater chance for peace. But Kachin support for Suu Kyi and her party has so far failed to pay a dividend, with the military still flexing its constitutionally ensured powers over security and border affairs. (Zhau Ring Hpara / AFP File)

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One group of 2,000 villagers has been trapped in the jungle since mid-April without proper food, water, shelter and medical care, unable to get through army roadblocks to safer refuge. For those who do eventually reach safety, they often end up in church halls like the one at Trinity Baptist Church just outside Myitkyina. That’s were Nlam Numrang Doi and her neighbors ended up after their escape by boat. (Min Kyi Thein / AP)

Updated on May 09, 2018 11:27 am IST

One group of 2,000 villagers has been trapped in the jungle since mid-April without proper food, water, shelter and medical care, unable to get through army roadblocks to safer refuge. For those who do eventually reach safety, they often end up in church halls like the one at Trinity Baptist Church just outside Myitkyina. That’s were Nlam Numrang Doi and her neighbors ended up after their escape by boat. (Min Kyi Thein / AP)

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