Three Chin families escaping fighting in northern Rakhine State arrived in Hakha, capital of Chin State, this Thursday.
Han Thein told Khonumthung News after the Arakan Army (AA) based itself near their village Derlet Chaung, located in Ann township, they had to leave. The presence of the AA troops soon attracted the attention of the Burma Army. When fighting ensued Han Thein’s family and the other 49 families from Derlet Chaung went into exile.
“We couldn’t bring anything with us when we moved to Ann town,” he said. Without food, money or shelter it was a tough go, Han Thein told Khonumthung News.
Eventually, Christian leaders helped the three families—a total of 15 people from the Asho Chin ethnic group—make the long journey north to Hakha.
Soe Htet, spokesperson and municipal minister for Chin State, told Khonumthung News, he only recently learned the families had arrived in the capital. They will need to report to home affairs, he said, and after they can contact a local foundation for their accommodation.
“The Daw Khin Kyi foundation has already built 50 houses in Theekee village and donated them for IDPs (internally displaced persons). If they want to go there, they can come to discuss it with us,” Soe Htet said.
It turns out the families already have their own plans. With the support of Christian leaders, they’re moving to Harein Pee village in Matupi township.
Fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA in Ann township has displaced over 300 Asho Chin from 10 villages in Ann township. More than 200 moved in with relatives in Nga Hpe, Minton, Min Hla and Saytok Tara townships in Magwe region.
The three families are the first Asho Chin displaced by fighting in Ann township that arrived in Hakha. With clashes continuing in northern Rakhine State, more families are expected to seek refuge from the conflict in Chin State.