--- description: Fighting over the construction of the Chinese- and Thai-backed dam has displaced up to 10,000 people in the east of Burma, reports say. title: Thousands 'Displaced By Fighting' Over Dam in Eastern Burma image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f828912ce0ca052/6988a9d3428a9e3950cd49bc/gettyimages-609875952.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Burma](/tag/burma/) ## Burma Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Thousands of People Have Been 'Displaced by Fighting' in Eastern Burma by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 13, 2016 2:24 AM CUT  In this photo taken on September 21, 2016, residents who fled from conflict areas in Karen state take refuge at an evacuation center in a monastery in Myaing Gyi Ngu. At least eight people have been killed and thousands displaced by clashes in southeast Myanmar between government troops and an ethnic rebel splinter group belonging to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. In this photo taken on September 21, 2016, residents who fled from conflict areas in Karen state take refuge at an evacuation center in a monastery in Myaing Gyi Ngu. At least eight people have been killed and thousands displaced by clashes in southeast Myanmar between government troops and an ethnic rebel splinter group belonging to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 13, 2016 2:24 AM CUT Fighting over the construction of a Chinese- and Thai-backed dam has [displaced up to 10,000 people](http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thousands-flee-fighting-near-site-of-dam-backed-by-30297474.html "undefined") in east Burma’s Karen state (also called Kayin state), according to reports. According to Thai newspaper the _Nation_, a Burmese government-affiliated border militia and an ethnic Karen insurgency group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, are battling for control of the area where the Hat Gyi Dam is under construction. The director of the Karen Cultural and Development Centre said the situation of around 1,000 refugees — mostly women and children — trapped by the fighting in two villages on the Thai border was becoming particularly desperate. “They are unable to sustain themselves and have no access to fundamental services,” Surapong Kongchantuk told the _Nation_. One unnamed Karen volunteer said, “The refugees have nowhere to go. They cannot go forward and they cannot return … There is still no humanitarian aid from any official agency or international organization. These people are in a very desperate situation.” The Hat Gyi Dam is being built by a Thai, Chinese and Burmese consortium on the Salween River. Surapong told the _Nation_ that its construction will mean that “large areas will be flooded and large numbers of people displaced forever.” \[[_The Nation_](http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thousands-flee-fighting-near-site-of-dam-backed-by-30297474.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4529150/burma-fighting-hat-gyi-dam-karen-kayin-myanmar/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4529150/burma-fighting-hat-gyi-dam-karen-kayin-myanmar/"},"headline":"Thousands of People Have Been 'Displaced by Fighting' in Eastern Burma","datePublished":"2016-10-13T02:24:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:09:49.610Z","description":"Karen and government-backed militia are reportedly fighting for control of an area where a major dam is being built","url":"https://time.com/4529150/burma-fighting-hat-gyi-dam-karen-kayin-myanmar/","keywords":["Burma","myanmar"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f828912ce0ca052/6988a9d3428a9e3950cd49bc/gettyimages-609875952.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f828912ce0ca052/6988a9d3428a9e3950cd49bc/gettyimages-609875952.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"MYANMAR-UNREST-ETHNIC","caption":"MYANMAR-UNREST-ETHNIC","creditText":"AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/burma/","name":"Burma"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4529150/burma-fighting-hat-gyi-dam-karen-kayin-myanmar/","name":"Thousands of People Have Been 'Displaced by Fighting' in Eastern Burma"}}]}] ```