6,000 people flee from Hpakant battle

Tuesday, August 28 — Within two weeks, over 6,000 miners and residents in Burma’s Hpakant jade mine have fled from war zones to local Christ churches and Buddhist monasteries in Hpakan.  The fighting intensified in the jade mining region in western Kachin State when a Burmese Army column took position near Maw Mau Bum— the jade mining village and strategic military post for the Kachin Independence Army’s Battalion 6. The internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently receiving basic food and medical assistance from the religious organizations and jade companies.  According to local volunteers, no IDPs to date have received government support.