Emergency food supplies from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have successfully reached communities stranded for months in Paletwa on Saturday. Some 3,700 conflict-affected people will receive food assistance, according to a statement.

For the past few months, trade and supply routes going into Paletwa, a remote town in southern Chin State, near the border with Rakhine State, have been largely cut off due to intensified fighting. Families were forced to skip meals and forage wild plants for food. Some resorted to selling or eating their livestock, a coping strategy that could hurt longer-term agricultural productivity and food security.

“WFP’s food has made it to Paletwa, and we thank the Chin State government and many others for their cooperation, but our work doesn’t stop here,” says Stephen Anderson, WFP Country Director in Myanmar. “The communities are extremely vulnerable and need sustained support to prevent the food situation from getting worse.”

The delivery was hampered by insecurity earlier, when, on 29 April, a convoy of five WFP contracted trucks carrying the food aid was fired on by unidentified gunmen while en-route to Paletwa. One convoy worker sustained a minor injury and three trucks were damaged. Despite this, the convoy was able to continue its journey. When the food reached a river crossing point near Paletwa, WFP shipped it by boat to reach its destination.

Earlier in April, with the support of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and the Chin State government, WFP was able to deliver food and essential kitchen utensils to 2,600 newly displaced people also affected by the conflict in nearby Samee Town.