UN: More than a million displaced

Stateless: Children attending a class in a shelter for people displaced by post-coup violence in Kayah state. — AFP

THE United Nations’ humanitarian relief agency says the number of people displaced within strife-torn Myanmar has for the first time exceeded a million, with well over half the total losing their homes after a military takeover last year.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says in a report that an already critical situation is being exacerbated by ongoing fighting between the military government and its opponents, the increasing prices of essential commodities, and the coming of monsoon season, while funding for its relief efforts is severely inadequate.