The Kachin State government intends to begin the process of rescuing hundreds of civilians trapped in Injangyang Township by broader regional conflict, with the Burmese military blockading the road linking it to adjacent Myitkyina Township to the west.

“We feel deeply for the suffering of all the people who have been caught up in the conflict,” she told an audience in Naypyidaw that included members of the foreign diplomatic corps.

About 2.2 million children living in remote, conflict-hit parts of Burma could be left behind as the country rapidly develops following decades of military rule, the United Nations warns.

Generators are expensive. Pact says one hour of diesel power in rural Burma costs roughly the same as 24 hours of power in Rangoon.

President Htin Kyaw this week acknowledged the country’s many development needs, saying the biggest obstacle to achieving these goals is money.

Challenges abound, but so too does hope that the right set of policies can spur development in this remote part of Burma.