"Life is going from bad to worse for about 6,000 Shan villagers stuck in six camps for the displaced close to the Thai-Myanmar border. First, food aid was cut by international donors about 18 months ago, and recently Myanmar troops fired artillery shells near their camps, while drones have flown over their homes and citizens have been prevented from growing rice on nearby land. A new report, unveiled in Bangkok last Thursday (see video below), describes intimidation and other measures that are making life hellish for impoverished citizens stuck near the border of southern Shan state and northern Thailand. Displaced people in the camps were part of a mass exodus in the mid-to-late 90s when up to 300,000 people fled brutal massacres and forced eviction from their original villages in central Shan state, some of which were earmarked for the huge Tasang dam on the Salween River – a 7,000 megawatt project backed by Chinese and Thai utilities now known as the Mong Ton Dam. Most of those people were allowed to cross the border into Thailand and work in the north on orange plantations in Fang district and construction sites in Chiang Mai. But the security situation has become increasingly precarious for displaced villagers in the small camps along the border – Loi Kaw Wan, Loi Sarm Sip, Loi Lam, Loi Tai Leng and Kong Moong Murng, as well as Koung Jor near Wiang Haeng in northern Chiang Mai province. All of these sites had food support cut by international donors in late 2017. The Shan Human Rights Group (SHRG) says the Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, has been reinforcing positions around five Shan IDP camps, while building new roads and sending out drones to monitor the displaced Shan, despite a ceasefire deal agreed to by the Shan State Army. It said that in February six 120-mm shells were fired at two IDP locations. “Terrified IDPs have been preparing bunkers and carrying out evacuation drills in preparation for further attacks,” the group said..."