Myanmar's military has been battling on multiple fronts to impose order since its Feb. 1 coup against Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government sparked nationwide protests. Kayah State, which borders Thailand, is one of several regions where volunteer People's Defense Forces have clashed with Myanmar's well-equipped army, which has responded with artillery and air strikes, triggering an exodus into nearby forests.

"The junta's brutal, indiscriminate attacks are threatening the lives of many thousands of men, women and children in Kayah State," Thomas Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said in a statement.

"Let me blunt. Mass deaths from starvation, disease, and exposure, on a scale we have not yet seen since the February 1 coup, could occur in Kayah State absent immediate action," he said.

An activist in Kayah State said many displaced people could not be reached including in an area east of Demoso town, about 15 kilometers from the state capital, Loikaw.

"Some people to the east of Demoso have to survive on rice broth as we cannot deliver rice bags to them," said the activist, who asked not to be identified. She said that military authorities had arrested three people trying to deliver aid in the last two weeks.

Power had also been cut in many areas and, along with food, materials for shelter and petrol were also desperately needed, said the activist, who also called for urgent international help.

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