About 2,000 Christian civilians have reportedly been left stranded in a jungle in Myanmar after they tried to flee from fighting between the government forces and Kachin guerrillas in Kachin state's Tanai region.
Community leaders in the predominantly Christian Kachin state are asking for help as many of those who are stranded are in need of urgent medical attention.
The Rev. Mung Dan, a Baptist community leader, told CBN News that the stranded civilians are "in dire need of medical treatment as well as rations." They reportedly include five pregnant women, two new mothers, and 93 elderly people.
At least 10 civilians were reportedly killed when the fighting between the government forces and the Kachin Independence Army resumed in Tanai last week.
The conflict lies in a region known for its amber and gold mining. The Burmese army contends that its operations in the region are aimed at preventing illegal mining, but the Legal Aid Network refutes this, alleging that the government just wants to take control of the region's natural resources.
"The real intention is to seize control of the rich natural resources of the area themselves, as in the Hpakant jade mining area. Tanai also lies in a strategic location, along the old Ledo road, linking China and northeast India," a report from the group stated, as reported by Frontier.
Daw Phyu Phyu Myint, head of the Department of Disaster Management in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, said that many of the displaced people were able to return to their homes, while some were able to receive aid in camps for internally displaced people. However, there are still people who remain stranded and are not able to receive aid from the government.
"There are still civilians in the forest, who we cannot reach," Myint said in an interview with Frontier last week. "We are unable to get into the forest by ourselves without a military guard, for security reasons. We are still studying how to help them," she continued.
In April, 32 Kachin organizations called on the U.N. Security Council to refer the Burma government to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged atrocities, Frontier reported.
The groups accuse the Burmese army of using tactics - such as executions, torture, arbitrary arrest, rape and denial of humanitarian assistance - to "destroy our ethnic identity, destroy our religion, colonise our lands, and steal our natural resources."
A statement from the government reportedly contended that the ICC did not have the jurisdiction to conduct an investigation into the matter.
