Laiza displacement camp fire leaves nearly 180 people homeless

By Admin 20 Mar 2023

DMG Newsroom
20 March 2023, Laiza, Kachin State

A fire outbreak at the Jay Yang camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kachin State’s Laiza, the capital of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIA), on Sunday resulted in losses of more than 30 shelters and left 177 IDPs homeless.

The fire was attributed to have started when an IDP was cooked with an electric pot at around 3:00 pm yesterday at a makeshift tent and the fire spread to nearby homes.

“The fire broke out when an IDP was cooking and the fire engulfed at least 30 makeshift tents. The fire was caused by an electrical fault,” said an official from the displacement camp.

The fire was eventually extinguished by the IDPs and members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the armed wing of the KIO, locals said.

The homeless are currently being accommodated at a nearby school and they are in need of assistance, according to aid workers.

“We have provided food items and clothes to the fire victims. We need financial assistance to rebuild makeshift tents for the fire victims,” an aid worker told DMG.

More than 8,000 IDPs from 1,600 households are reportedly taking refuge at the Jay Yang displace camp, which is located near the China-Myanmar border.

The IDPs were displaced by fighting between Myanmar military and KIA in Waingmaw and Momauk townships in 2011.