Members of the Committee for the Implementation of Recommendations on Arakan State arrived yesterday in state capital Sittwe, where they met with Nyi Pu, the region’s chief minister.

Nyi Pu and members of his regional government met the delegation at Sittwe airport before escorting them to one of the many camps sheltering internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Arakan, also known as Rakhine.

Several days of constant rains have caused rivers to burst their banks in western Chin State, with the townships of Falam and Kalay particularly affected.

In Falam, the Sae Gyi creek in Khai Kan has overflowed, inundating nearby residences and forcing families to abandon their homes.

According to the district information department in Falam, some 20 houses in Ward (3), nearby the creek, are at risk of crumbling due to the floods. Seven families have already been relocated to stay with friends and relatives after their homes were pronounced too unsafe.

Burma’s President Htin Kyaw has appointed a new committee to oversee implementation of the various solutions recommended by the Rakhine Advisory Commission, headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

By NANG MYA NADI / DVB

Some 6,000 Shan refugees – many of whom fled conflict at home more than 20 years ago and sought refuge in camps along the Thai-Burmese border – are about to experience a severe cut in international assistance.

The Border Consortium (TBC), an umbrella group that coordinates international aid deliveries, has informed camp leaders that funds and aid will cease at the end of September.

Thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Myine Gyi Ngu camp in Karen State are living with increased food shortages since clashes broke out in recent days between a splinter faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the local Border Guard Force (BGF) in Hlaing Bwe Township backed by Burmese government troops.