Northern Myanmar Fighting Displaces Almost 50,000 Civilians: UN

Yangon, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2023) Almost 50,000 people have been displaced by fighting in northern Myanmar after an alliance of ethnic armed groups launched an offensive against the military two weeks ago, the United Nations said Friday.

Fighting has raged across northern Shan state near the Chinese border in what analysts say poses the biggest military challenge to the junta since it seized power in 2021.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army have blocked vital trade routes and say they have captured dozens of military outposts.

"As of 9 November, almost 50,000 people in northern Shan were forced into displacement," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in an update.

There were still clashes on Friday in the town of Hsenwi, which sits on the important Muse and Chinshwehaw trade routes, a resident told AFP.