Because of the fighting between Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burma Army, people were fleeing from Kachin State to Northern Shan State, but authorities were doing nothing for them, according to locals.
A Nam Kham resident said, "Over 400 victims arrived at the church in the evening on 12 December. They said the Burmese force had shelled the village including its surroundings."
Altogether 456 people, mostly Shan and Kachin from Kachin State, reached Nam Kham, Northern Shan State on 12 December at 5 p.m.
"The Catholic abbot set up a temporary refugee camp at Aung Myitta and Sa Lay Tan wards and provided for their needs," a civilian official who lives in Aung Myitta ward said.
The victims are children, women and the elderly from villages including Kat Para, Nam Hsar, Oo Lampa and Kha Shan in Mansi Township, Kachin State. They had fled because they were afraid of being molested by the Burmese soldiers, according to one of the displaced people.
"The residents including the abbot came and gave us blankets, clothes, household utensils and food but the government didn't. They came and asked many questions like whether we carried ID cards. It was very disturbing,"a displaced old woman said.
Most of them are in Nam Kham and in Nongdao village tract, Ruili Township, China, staying with their relatives. Those who have been there for one or two months are issued temporary cards to stay in Chinese territory.
Over 10,000 victims are fleeing to Bhamo, Waing Maw and Myitkyina. There are 40,000 displaced people said to be at Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)'s Laiza base. The United Nations organizations are there to help them, according to KIO sources.
President Thein Sein was said to have issued a directive to the Burma Army to halt the offensive against the KIO but the fighting continues and the people continue to flee from their harms.
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