Morning arrives slowly at Pan Kha Kho refugee camp. It takes a moment for the lemon sun to creep over the horizon, pausing before rising to reveal rows of corrugated-iron roofs lining the valley ahead.
Pan Kha Kho is one of nearly 200 camps for internally displaced people in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin State. These temporary shelters are now home to more than 100,000 people, forced to flee their villages owing to violent clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (or Tatmadaw) and a group of fighters known as the Kachin Independence Army(KIA).
Following the collapse of a 17-year ceasefire, the two forces resumed fighting in 2011. In response, the Tatmadaw banned aid agencies from entering KIA territory, cutting off access to humanitarian support for the local population.
"We had no choice. The soldiers came and they took over my home," said Jing Qwan, 36, a midwife from Maumo township. (Courtesy of aljazeera.com)
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