Over 20,000 people have been relocated in southeast Myanmar due to a 'food crisis.'

More than 20,000 people who have fled their homes in territory held by Karen National Union (KNU) rebels are in desperate need of food and other supplies, according to a rights group, as combat in the area intensifies.

"You could say this is an emergency scenario for the IDPs," said Naw Htoo Htoo, a spokesperson for the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG).

"As of late March, there were roughly 20,000 IDPs."
That number has been steadily rising... and continues to rise.
The fighting hasn't ceased and has extended to new areas," she told Myanmar Now.

Karen IDPs are in the worst circumstances they've been in since a military coup last year pushed the region back into violence after a shaky ceasefire, she added.

She said it was critical for international humanitarian organisations to offer assistance, but the junta has enforced road closures and other restrictions that have made reaching those in need extremely difficult.

According to KIC, a local news site, the whole population of Htee Muu Hta hamlet in Myawaddy Township was displaced after a junta airstrike on April 12 and has been sheltering on fields and plantations with little to no food.

"Right now, the most important thing we need is food," Nobel, a local charity volunteer assisting displaced residents in Myawaddy, said.
"Food can be scarce at times because we can only acquire supplies once a week due to the closure of all import channels from Thailand."

According to him, the Lay Kay Kaw area has about 1,000 IDPs, the majority of whom are from the villages of Htee Mei Wah Khee and Hpa Lu.
"Every day, battles have been taking place in Lay Kay Kaw, and we don't know when they'll be allowed to return," he said.
"As the rainy season approaches, I made them tiny houses."

Many of those displaced, according to Naw Htoo Htoo of KHRG, are supposed to be planting crops now that the rainy season is approaching, but are unable to do so since they are unable to return home, putting them in even greater hardship in the coming months.

"In Karen State, 70% of the farmers barely generate enough money to maintain their family," she claimed.
"If they cease farming, they won't be able to feed themselves."

"They must destroy the farmlands now in order to begin planting when the rainy season arrives.
They can't go home, though, because they barely made it out alive.
If aid from donors and humanitarian organisations does not come in time, they will risk food insecurity as well," she added.