Minorities in Myanmar borderlands face fresh fear since coup
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Before each rainy season Lu Lu Aung and other farmers living in a camp for internally displaced people in Myanmars far northern Kachin state would return to the village they fled and plant crops that would help keep them fed for the coming year.
But this year in the wake of Februarys military coup, with the rains not far off, the farmers rarely step out of their makeshift homes and dont dare leave their camp. They say it is simply too dangerous to risk running into soldiers from Myanmars army or their aligned militias.
We cant go anywhere and cant do anything since the coup, Lu Lu Aung said. Every night, we hear the sounds of jet fighters flying so close above our camp.
The militarys lethal crackdown on protesters in large central cities such as Yangon and Mandalay has received much of the attention since the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyis elected government. But far away in Myanmars borderlands, Lu Lu Aung and millions of others who hail from Myanmars minority ethnic groups are facing increasing uncertainty and waning security as longstanding conflicts between the military and minority guerrilla armies flare anew.
https://apnews.com/article/aung-san-suu-kyi-myanmar-indonesia-united-nations-asia-pacific-1b69c4069a7d60abc0da399038c23567