Conflicts & War

UNHCR says Myanmar’s displaced have doubled since coup

Geneva, Feb 11 (EFE).- The number of internally displaced people due to the conflicts in Myanmar has doubled in the year since last year’s military coup and currently amounts to more than 800,000 people, The UN Refugee Agency said Friday.

“The situation is rapidly deteriorating in the country, as armed conflicts and clashes intensify with no signs of abating,” UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said at a news conference.

More than half of the displaced have had to leave their homes in southern states (Kayin, Kayah, Mon, Shan, Bago and Tanintharyi), where clashes between armed groups have increased, while another 190,000 affected are in the north-west of the country.

Saltmarsh said that access to many of these areas in Myanmar is difficult due to insecurity, roadblocks and problems obtaining entry permits, although in 2021 UNHCR managed to assist some 170,000 of these displaced people. EFE

abc/lds

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