Residents of the ruby mining town have been shaken by abductions and squeezed by demands for money from armed groups competing for influence in the multi-ethnic area.
An informal ceasefire has enabled some IDPs to return to war-scarred villages in Rakhine State, but landmines and unexploded ordnance pose a major risk to their safety.
Though soldiers cast ballots outside their bases for the first time in the November election, the military vote enabled the Union Solidarity and Development Party to clinch rare victories in borderland constituencies.
After its landslide election win, the NLD is seeking the “cooperation” of ethnic parties in establishing a federal democracy, but they have yet to see evidence that their basic demands will be met.
