Crisis in Myanmar's Kachin means jungle treks to escape war

As the Myanmar army's bombs started falling near her home in Kachin state, Nlam Numrang Doi and her neighbors decided they had no choice but to grab what they could and scatter into the jungle.

In this May 6, 2018, photo, an ethnic Kachin woman feeds her child in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp for internally displaced people in Myitkyina, Kachin State, northern Myanmar.  (AP Photo/Min Kyi Thein)

"We were in so much trouble, I couldn't even swallow my food," the 92-year-old recalled. "If we stayed in the village, we didn't know what could happen to us."

She climbed onto her grandson's back and he carried her to a river where she and nearly 800 other villagers boarded boats to reach the state capital, part of a wave of 6,800 people who have fled their homes in Kachin since a fresh government offensive began in early April.

The onslaught is part of a decades-long government campaign to defeat Kachin rebels fighting for greater autonomy for the largely Christian minority group in Myanmar's far north. The intensified offensive has renewed accusations that the army is creating a similar humanitarian crisis in Kachin to the one spawned by its violence against Rohingya Muslims in the country's west.

In this May 6, 2018, photo, ethnic Kachin Nlam Numrang Doi, 92, sits along with her husband Hkaraw Yaw, 102, at their hut in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp for internally displaced people in Myitkyina, Kachin State, northern Myanmar. (AP Photo/Min Kyi Thein)

"What we are seeing in Kachin state over the past few weeks is wholly unacceptable, and must stop immediately," Yanghee Lee, the U.N.'s human rights expert for Myanmar, said last week. "Innocent civilians are being killed and injured, and hundreds of families are now fleeing for their lives."

"All parties must take all necessary measures to ensure their safety and security," she said.

A 17-year cease-fire between the government and Kachin Independence Army was broken in 2011, when the army entered rebel territory and attacked one of their outposts. Since then, sporadic fierce combat has uprooted villagers and left hundreds of civilians dead.

The fresh exodus of villagers is adding to the 100,000 people previously displaced in Kachin and neighboring Shan state, many of whom live in camps where people already have difficulty obtaining food and clean water due to military restrictions on aid.

In this May 6, 2018, photo, internally displaced ethnic Kachins have their meals in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State, northern Myanmar. (AP Photo/Min Kyi Thein)

Gumsha Awng of the Joint Strategy Team for Humanitarian response, a coalition of humanitarian groups in Kachin, said the army has been blocking international aid shipments to the region, a similar tactic it used with the Rohingya.

The government has denied virtually all access to the area for the United Nations and international humanitarian groups.

Those fleeing their rural villages try to seek the relative safety of the state capital, Myitkyina, which is under government control, or rebel-held cities where they can seek aid from church groups. Some who have fled, however, have found themselves stuck in a jungle no man's land unable to find a safe route out of the war zone.

One group of 2,000 villagers has been trapped in the jungle since mid-April without proper food, water, shelter and medical care, unable to get through army roadblocks to safer refuge.

In this May 6, 2018, photo, ethnic Kachin Hkaraw Yaw, left, sits along with his wife Nlam Numrang Doi at their hut in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State, northern Myanmar. (AP Photo/Min Kyi Thein)reg

Lamai Gum Ja of the Peace Talk Creation Group, comprising Kachin notables who attempt to mediate between the community and the army, said the military is intentionally blocking civilians from being rescued because they accuse them of having connections to the rebels.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay said the government has been helping with food, shelter and medical supplies and is working to "rescue any trapped civilians."

"We are hearing that the Kachin rebels have been pretending they're civilians and that's why we have to verify the civilians very carefully," he told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

There were hopes when Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government took power in 2016 that there might be a greater chance for peace. But Kachin support for Suu Kyi and her party has so far failed to pay any dividends, with the military still flexing its constitutionally ensured powers over security and border affairs.

In this May 6, 2018, photo, internally displaced ethnic Kachins rest at their hut in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State, northern Myanmar. (AP Photo/Min Kyi Thein)

Thousands of Kachins rallied in Myitkyina last week to demand humanitarian relief for those stuck in the jungles, and on Friday the central government-appointed state minister, Hkyet Awng, joined community leaders in a march to attempt to reach one group of trapped civilians. The military stopped them.

"Stopping the minister and Christian leaders from rescuing those civilians shows that the army is more powerful than the civilian government," said Lagang Zegyung, a lawmaker representing Kachin state. "The army controls everything, especially in the ethnic regions, which makes it almost impossible for us to help civilians in the conflict zone."

For those who do eventually reach safety, they often end up in church halls like the one at Trinity Baptist Church just outside Myitkyina. That's where Nlam Numrang Doi and her neighbors ended up after their escape by boat.

"Our small church is hosting nearly 800 people who had fled from their village and now the church is overcrowded with the elderly, children, pregnant women, widows and disabled people," said La Hkawng, a church pastor.

In this May 6, 2018, photo, internally displaced ethnic Kachins rest at their hut in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State, northern Myanmar.(AP Photo/Min Kyi Thein)

He said they are providing food and shelter and what medical care they can. But some of the wounds are unseen.

Heavily pregnant Htu Hkam Ndu said her two young children are traumatized by the fighting.

"My children are even scared of planes flying around, any kind of planes," she said. "My children keep telling me to flee every time they heard the sound of a plane flying. That's why when these children grow up, they will always remember what happened."

Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of college campuses following last week's arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University.

By Thursday, police in Boston and Los Angeles said they had arrested protesters at schools in those cities and at least one university announced that it had closed its campus. Protests on Wednesday on the campuses of at least two universities involved clashes with police, while another university shut down its campus for the rest of the week.

The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself.

Protests on many campuses have been orchestrated by coalitions of student groups. The groups largely act independently, though students say they’re inspired by peers at other universities.

A look at protests on campuses in recent days:

Pro-Palestinian student protesters set up a tent encampment at the Ivy League university in New York last week. Police first tried to clear the encampment on Thursday, when they arrested more than 100 protesters. But the move backfired, acting as an inspiration for other students across the country and motivating protesters at Columbia to regroup.

University officials said early Wednesday that they were extending a deadline for protesters to clear out. They said the demonstrators had committed to removing a significant number of tents and agreed that only students would remain at the encampment. They also said they would make the encampment more welcoming by banning any discriminatory language or harassing messages. The encampment on the upper Manhattan campus appeared calm and a little smaller on Wednesday morning.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia on Wednesday to meet with Jewish students over concerns about antisemitism on college campuses. Johnson said Israel and Jewish students on campus will not stand alone. Protesters nearby said they couldn't hear him and he responded, “Enjoy your free speech.”

Dozens of police officers and state troopers, including some on horseback and holding batons, forcefully arrested more than two dozen student protesters and a local news photographer at the University of Texas at Austin Wednesday after university officials and the governor called authorities.

Protesters said they had planned a walkout and march to the main campus lawn, where students would occupy the space and host events throughout the afternoon. But the university said in a statement that it would “not tolerate disruptions” like those at other campuses.

Fifty-seven people were jailed and charged with criminal trespass Wednesday following the protest, according to a spokeswoman for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. The Travis County Attorney’s Office received several cases resulting from the demonstration and reviewed them after defense attorneys expressed concerns, spokeswoman Diana Melendez said in a statement Thursday. The county attorney’s office and the court agreed there were deficiencies in the probable cause affidavits and ordered the release of those arrested, according to the statement. The office said it will continue to review all cases to "determine whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate.”

Gov. Greg Abbott said on X that the protesters belong in jail, and that any student who joins what he called hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in the state should be expelled.

A photographer covering the demonstration for local Fox affiliate, Fox 7 Austin, was among those arrested after being caught in a push-and-pull between law enforcement and students. The station confirmed the arrest in its online story. Another journalist was knocked down in the mayhem and was seen bleeding before police helped him to emergency medical staff, who bandaged his head.

In a statement, University President Jay Hartzell said that peaceful protests within the university's rules are acceptable but that breaking the rules and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed.

“Our rules matter, and they will be enforced," his statement said. "Our University will not be occupied.”

The Los Angeles Police Department said more than 90 people were arrested Wednesday night during a protest at the University of Southern California for alleged trespassing. One person was arrested for alleged assault with a deadly weapon. LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz told reporters that there was an altercation in one part of the protest area, but she did not have specific details of the alleged assault. There were no reports of injuries. The university posted on X on Wednesday that it had closed campus and that police would arrest people who did not leave.

Earlier in the day police removed several tents, then got into a back-and-forth tent tugging match with protesters before falling back. At one point, USC police detained a man and put him in a vehicle. A crowd surrounded the car and chanted “Let him go!” and the officers eventually did so. The man waved at demonstrators to indicate they should return to the park.

Two pro-Palestinian students participating in a protest on campus were arrested Tuesday and charged with criminal trespassing, after “repeated warnings to be quiet,” said university spokesperson Ben Johnson.

About 50 protesters had gathered at a campus amphitheater to share stories about their connections to the Palestinian people before marching. While stopping at a building on the university’s medical campus, two individuals became “disruptive,” Johnson said. Per university policy, the students who were arrested will be referred to the student conduct office.

Trying to stay ahead of protests, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, locked most gates into its famous Harvard Yard ahead of classes Monday and limited access to those with school identification. The school also posted signs warning against setting up tents or tables on campus without permission. Those efforts didn’t stop protesters from setting up a camp with 14 tents Wednesday, which came after a rally against the university’s suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.

Protesters at the university used furniture, tents, chains and zip ties to block entrances to an academic and administrative building on Monday. Protesters chanted, “We are not afraid of you!” before officers in riot gear pushed into them at the building’s entrance, video shows. University officials closed the campus through this weekend, saying instruction would continue to be remote. They said in a statement Tuesday that students had occupied a second building and three students had been arrested. On Wednesday, officials said some unidentified people who were not students were also inside one of the occupied buildings. Humboldt is located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

On Thursday, the university said protesters continued to occupy the two buildings on campus and it was making contingency plans, including possibly keeping campus closed beyond Sunday.

Boston Police said Thursday that 108 people were arrested at an encampment at Emerson College. Police said four officers suffered injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. Those arrested were expected to appear in Boston Municipal Court.

On Tuesday, about 80 students and other supporters at Emerson College occupied a busy courtyard on the downtown Boston campus. College officials warned the students on Wednesday that some of the protesters were in violation of city ordinances, including by blocking a right-of-way and fire hydrants, and violating noise laws. The school said the alley where some protesters have set up tents is owned by the city, and Boston police have warned of imminent law enforcement action. The college said in a statement that campus police were offering escort services for students after officials received credible reports of some protesters engaging in “targeted harassment and intimidation of Jewish supporters of Israel."

At New York University, an encampment set up by students swelled to hundreds of protesters earlier this week. Police on Wednesday said that 133 protesters had been taken into custody. They said all were released with summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges.

Atlanta police and Georgia state troopers dismantled a camp on Emory University’s quadrangle Thursday morning, with Associated Press journalists counting at least 17 people detained.

University police had ordered several dozen demonstrators who set up tents on the campus early Thursday morning to leave, according to Emory spokeswoman Laura Diamond. She said in an email to The Associated Press that the group “trespassed” onto the private school.

“These individuals are not members of our community,” Diamond said. “They are activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals.”

A long line of officers surrounded the encampment of about three dozen tents after 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, as protesters chanted slogans supporting Palestinians and opposing a public safety training center being built in Atlanta. The two movements are closely entwined in Atlanta, where there has been years of “Stop Cop City” activism that has included a fringe of anarchist attacks on property and the killing by state troopers of a protester who was occupying the site.

When officers in tactical gear began detaining people, some submitted, but others physically pushed back. Those who were detained were handcuffed with zip ties and loaded into a police transport van. Video shows officers at least once used an electrical stun gun on a protester who was handcuffed on the ground.

An encampment at the center of the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor had grown to about 40 tents on Tuesday. Almost every student there wore a mask, which was handed to them when they entered. Student protesters declined to identify themselves to reporters, saying they feared retribution by the university. One student stood near the encampment passing out small flags of Israel, saying he didn't want Jewish students walking through campus to only see the protesters.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar attended a protest at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, hours after nine demonstrators were arrested when police took down an encampment in front of the library. Hundreds had rallied to demand their release. Omar’s daughter was among the protesters arrested at Columbia last week.

On Wednesday, more than 80 professors and assistant professors signed a letter calling on the University of Minnesota’s president to drop any charges, lift any ban on the arrestees' presence on campus and to allow future encampments.

Northwestern University hastily changed its student code of conduct Thursday morning to bar tents on its suburban Chicago campus as anti-war student activists set up an encampment similar to Pro-Palestinian demonstrations at colleges nationwide.

Groups including Jewish Voice for Peace and Educators for Justice in Palestine said the encampment on the Evanston campus was “a safe space for those who want to show their support of the Palestinian people.” The students want the university to divest from Israel, among other things.

Dozens participated as University President Michael Schill issued an email saying the university had enacted an “interim addendum” to its student code to bar tents, among other things, and warned of disciplinary actions including suspension, expulsion and criminal charges.

“The goal of this addendum is to balance the right to peacefully demonstrate with our goal to protect our community, to avoid disruptions to instruction and to ensure university operations can continue unabated,” Schilling said.

No arrests had been made by Thursday afternoon.

People sit outside tents at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Student protesters hold up sheets as others pray at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Signs are displayed on tents at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Texas state troopers in riot gear try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A woman is arrested at a pro-Palestinan protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A Palestinian flag is displayed at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A woman raises a fist during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Cally, a former UT student, faces off with a mounted state trooper at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A pro-Palestinian protester walks past pro-Israel protesters at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A pro-Palestinian protester faces off with state troopers at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Pro-Palestinian protesters face off with mounted state troopers at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A woman is arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Students participate in a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)

State troopers try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A woman is arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin. (Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather in front of Sproul Hall during a protest on the campus of UC Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, April 22, 2024. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters staged a demonstration in front of Sproul Hall where they set up a tent encampment and are demanding a permanent cease-fire in the war between Israel and Gaza. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

A student protester sits among the tents erected at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York, Monday April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Pro-Israeli demonstrators chant "Shame" in support of Columbia University assistant professor Shai Davidai, who was denied access to the main campus to prevent him from accessing the lawn currently occupied by pro-Palestinian student demonstrators in New York, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather in front of Sproul Hall on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif., Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The Israel-Hamas war protests creating friction at universities across the United States escalated Tuesday as some colleges encouraged students to attend classes remotely and dozens faced charges after setting up tents on campuses and ignoring official requests to leave. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

Student protestors erected approximately 20 tents on Parrish Beach by Clothier Hall at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa. on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

University of Southern California protesters carry a tents around Alumni Park on the University of Southern California to keep security from removing them during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters carry a tent around Alumni Park on the University of Southern California to keep security from removing it during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protester raises an anti war sign in Alumni Park on the campus of the University of Southern California during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters carry a tents around Alumni Park on the campus of the University of Southern California to keep security from removing them during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A University of Southern California protester, right, confronts a University Public Safety officer at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters push and shove University Public Safety officers as tempers get heated during a pro-Palestinian occupation on the University of Southern California campus Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

University of Southern California protesters fight with University Public Safety officers as they try to remove tents at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)