Food Shortages Reported in Laogai

Tens of thousands of Kokang civilians are experiencing food shortages, partly because UN and NGO agencies have suspended aid projects after the clash between government troops and Kokang militias, according to the sources on the China-Burma border.

A Burmese source based in Ruili in China's Yunnan Province, said, “Previously, they relied on aid from WFP (World Food Program) and NGOs, but now the projects are suspended in the region and they don’t have enough rice to eat.”

The source said that available rice stock goes first to government forces.

“Laogai has become a military township,” he said. “The military is everywhere.”

A spokeswoman with the WFP in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “We don’t know yet when we will restart our projects there. At the moment, we want to see a safe situation for our staff who works there.”

An estimated 120,000 people rely on the UN and NGO agencies for food and other aid, according to the WFP.

About 100 UN and NGO aid workers were trapped in Laogai Township after Burmese government troops and Kokang militias clashed in August. Many aid workers work with former opium farmers who are now growing substitute crops and in community development.

The Burmese government, in a recent press conference in Laogai, said that all markets and schools are open and many businesses are reopened.

“All those saying that are just repeating propaganda,” said the source. “There are still many students in China at refugee camps and many shopkeepers haven’t come back.”

Many people are afraid to return because they fear government troops will again clash with the Kokang militia led by Peng Jiasheng, who is on the run and reportedly in Wa territory.

An estimated 13,000 Kokang refugees have returned from China, and more than 20,000 are believed to have remained in Chinese refugee camps.

Irrawaddy