Arakan IDPs living outside camps urgently need aid

By Admin 11 Dec 2025

DMG Newsroom

11 December 2025, Kyauktaw

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) living outside displacement camps in Arakan State are facing a severe food crisis due to a lack of assistance.

These IDPs include those in camps organized by the United League of Arakan, as well as people living in monasteries, schools, and rented houses in villages outside the camps. Those outside the camps say they need more winter clothing and food than those living inside.

“Those living outside the displacement camps receive much less assistance than those inside. Some can rent houses, while others must build makeshift tents. It is winter now, so we need warm clothes and food for our next meal. We are even selling and eating the jewelry we brought,” said U Nyi Nyi Lwin, an IDP in a village in Kyauktaw Township.

IDPs outside camps survive in rented houses, self-built tents on vacant land, and temporary shelters in monasteries and schools. They work in plantations, unloading goods, selling food, or as motorbike taxi drivers.

Despite working, many struggle to cover basic expenses. “We have not received any aid for years. We cannot pay our children’s school fees or buy textbooks. I have no stable job and sell food at the market, but my income is not enough to feed my family. We want assistance for displaced people and children living outside the camps,” said an IDP woman from Sittwe Township, currently taking refuge in Kyauktaw Township.

IDPs report job shortages, rising prices, and serious health challenges. Civil society organizations warn that food shortages are worsening due to the lack of aid in new locations.

Ko Myo Kyaw Htoo, HR officer at Apaukwa Youth Association (AYA) in Kyauktaw Township, said, “Displaced people face many difficulties in their new places. They struggle with education and health. With winter here, they urgently need blankets and warm clothing.”

About 600,000 people remain internally displaced in Arakan State, all in need of humanitarian assistance.

Since 2023, the military regime has banned international organizations, including the UN, from providing aid in the region.