Two orphaned sisters, nine‑year‑old Naw Eh Mu Thaw and six‑year‑old Naw Ler Pwe Paw, have survived five years of conflict that has devastated their lives and displaced millions.
Last year the military killed their father, and their mother later died of malaria, leaving the children without immediate family.
They were taken in by a local family in Pah Lo Poe village, Karen State, an area that has become a contested battlefield between government forces and resistance groups.
When military jets overflew the village this week, the girls fled into the jungle, a survival tactic they have learned through repeated threats.
On 2 July 2026, the army bombed the house where the girls were staying; they escaped once again, now sheltering in the forest with no secure residence.
The conflict, which began after the 2021 coup that ousted the elected government, now spans roughly 60 % to 80 % of the country’s land area.
Government forces possess superior firepower, including artillery, drones, and air‑resupply capabilities, while resistance fighters rely on limited ammunition and improvised weapons such as homemade drones and explosive devices.
Territorial gains for the resistance often prove temporary, as insufficient supplies force fighters to abandon captured ground within days.
Medical services are critically scarce; Karenni State has only two functional hospitals, and the nearest surgical facility for the girls’ region is days away on foot.
Humanitarian aid is largely restricted to areas where the military grants permission, leaving many internally displaced persons (IDPs) without international assistance.
Approximately four million people now reside in makeshift IDP camps composed of bamboo frames and plastic tarps, where food, clean water, and medical care are scarce.
These camps lack agricultural capacity, forcing residents to depend on purchased food despite widespread unemployment and poverty.
The United Nations estimates that 16.2 million people, over one‑third of the population, require life‑saving assistance, yet protective measures and peacekeeping forces remain absent.
Education has been severely disrupted, with more than 6.3 million children out of school; volunteer‑run schools in camps operate without basic supplies.
Continued airstrikes frequently target civilian areas, including IDP camps, perpetuating a cycle of displacement and hardship for families like the one caring for the two sisters.
