In addition, there are also two other locations where villagers around the Meh Th’Waw area displaced to aside from Myaing Gyi Ngu Town. The first location is in D--- village, Meh Proo village tract, Hlaingbwe Township, where 504 family members from 90 households arrived. The second location is in C--- village, Meh Proo village tract, Hlaingbwe Township, where 392 family members from 72 households have displaced to. This additional information was received as of October 7th 2016, when a KHRG community member went to both locations and conducted interviews with villagers who displaced to these two village locations. According to the villagers, when the fighting broke out between DKBA and joint forces of BGF and Tatmadaw soldiers, they were told by Monk U Thuzana that villagers who live far from Meh Th’Waw area should temporarily displace to D--- village or other villages for their safety and that the monk would arrange to pick up them if the fighting become heavier. They fled from their village starting from September 25th 2016 at night time and they arrived at the displaced site by the next morning, September 26th 2016. Those villagers left behind their livestock and belongings as they could not bring anything with them when they were fleeing from the fighting. They reported that before they fled, some of their buffalos stepped on the DKBA’s landmines but they do not know if these animals are dead or injured because they dared not go to check due to their own fear of landmines. These villagers also reported to a KHRG member that prior to the fighting they were ordered by the DKBA soldiers to carry (porter) the DKBA’s food.  

When they fled, these villagers received support such as: food, clothing, shelter and healthcare from border-based community organisations.

Forced Labour

Villagers reported to KHRG that in A--- village, when the fighting occurred in the nearby areas, DKBA’s soldiers ordered two to three villagers from A--- village to porter for the soldiers. They were ordered to porter the soldiers’ food and ammunitions and stayed with soldiers for three days in shift rotation, without any payment.

Perilous landmines

According to the displaced villagers, many landmines have been newly planted by the DKBA soldiers in the areas where there has been fighting.[6] Most of these landmines are reported to be hand-made. Villagers are afraid of the landmines because these landmines are also planted in their village areas and work places. The responsible leader told a KHRG community member that on October 1st 2016, an E--- villager name Saw K---, who is over 20 years old, stepped on a landmine and sustained injuries.

Another landmine incident happened on September 16th 2016, when A--- village head U[7] T--- stepped on a landmine and died beside A--- village. When he stepped on the landmine, his wife and children were not with him; they had already fled to Myaing Gyi Ngu Town. According to U T---’s wife, Naw L---, U T--- did not die immediately but villagers were fearful carry him back to the village because when he stepped on the landmine, the BGF and Tatmadaw soldiers who were based in the village opened fire at the location where the landmine had exploded. Instead of carrying him back to the village, the villagers therefore brought him back to their hiding place in the valley. Then they sent some villagers to inform the BGF and Tatmadaw soldiers about the incident and to bring their village head back to the village for treatment. U T--- died on the way when villagers carried him back to the village because of the injuries that he had sustained from the landmine explosion. Naw L--- stated that the reason her husband stayed back in village was because he was a village head and there were some villagers who remained in village area rather than displacing away from the fighting. As village head he remained with villagers to help and protect them from any form of harm. U T--- left his wife and his five children. His wife and children are currently staying in Myaing Gyi Ngu Town. After the landmine incident, the villagers who had stayed in A--- village area were also told by the BGF that they should not stay in their hiding place and should leave for Myaing Gyi Ngu Town as they might be mistaken and shot at if they stayed in their hiding area near their village.

Naw L--- also reported to a KHRG community member that, before her and other villagers from A--- village fled to Myaing Gyi Ngu Town, fighting had occurred in her village because DKBA soldiers stayed in A--- village. According to Naw L---, BGF and the allied Tatmadaw soldiers entered into areas near to A--- village and they exchanged fire. Because of this fighting a lot of artillery that had been shelled by BGF and Tatmadaw soldiers fell and exploded in A--- village but they did not hit any A--- villagers. Therefore, A--- villagers were afraid and they wanted to flee from the village but DKBA soldiers told them that they do not need to be afraid and flee. Instead, DKBA soldiers suggested to the villagers to dig bomb shelters under their houses and stay in the village. Later, villagers heard that Monk U Thuzana had arranged cars to pick up villagers from fighting areas so many of them decided to flee to Myaing Gyi Ngu Town instead of staying in A--- village.

According to the villagers, they have been further impacted by the fighting in Meh Th’Waw area because the BGF and their allied Tatmadaw soldiers took control of the main vehicle road from Meh Th’Waw village to Myaing Gyi Ngu Town; they also captured the DKBA’s army camps along the vehicle road. The fighting became calm as of mid-October 2016. As of the end of October 2016, some villagers returned to their villages to work on their farms and plantations however they could not work effectively because they continue to be afraid of landmines.