Airstrikes target town in northern Shan State
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) claimed that the Burma Air Force carried out two airstrikes on Kyaukme town of northern Shan State on Monday. No casualties were reported. Kyaukme is located 68 miles (109 km) southwest of the regional capital Lashio and 107 miles (172 km) east of Mandalay. The TNLA seized Kyaukme on Aug. 5.
Lway Yay Oo, the TNLA spokesperson, told the media on Sunday that the regime had intensified airstrikes and attacks following an unsuccessful second round of China-brokered ceasefire talks with the regime April 28-29. Residents of Mogok Township told DVB that a woman was killed by an airstrike on Sunday. Mogok came under TNLA control on July 24.
Mogok is located 124 miles (200 km) northeast of Mandalay. The TNLA, along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA)-known collectively as the Brotherhood Alliance-extended its April ceasefire up to May 31 to allow earthquake relief work to continue. The regime ended its unilateral ceasefire on April 30.
Labour Day events in Yangon Region lead to regime scrutiny
Labour activists who marked International Workers’ Day on May 1 in Yangon Region have faced scrutiny by regime police, sources told DVB. “After we concluded the ceremony, the police arrived and asked whether we had obtained permission from the [regime]. They also inspected our organization’s permit and our connections with other groups,” a labour activist told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
This year’s “May day” was commemorated with online campaigns and labour union songs, according to posts on social media. Labour activists told DVB that they fear repercussions from the regime after police took statements and warned them about their use of language in the International Workers’ Day messages, which were deemed unacceptable by the authorities.
The Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM) demanded on May 1 that employers pay a daily minimum wage of 20,000 MMK ($4 USD) for eight hours of labour. The ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government set the daily minimum wage to 4,800 MMK ($1 USD) in May 2018. The law was meant to be revised every two years but it hasn’t changed, nor has the minimum wage, since then.
Bangladesh has ‘no intention of destabilizing’ Myanmar
The interim government of Bangladesh Security Advisor Khalilur Rahman stated that the country has not signed any agreement with the U.N. to deliver aid into Arakan State, via a humanitarian corridor. Rahman also serves as Special Assistant to the interim government Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
“It has only been discussed at a preliminary level,” Raman told a seminar on Rohingya repatriation at the Bangladesh University of Professionals in the capital Dhaka on Sunday. He added that Bangladesh has no intention of destabilizing Burma. But he confirmed the Rohingya will “definitely return” to Arakan State. Bangladesh hosts 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in camps located in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char.
Bangladesh Foreign Advisor Md. Touhid Hossain told the media last month about how the interim government is considering a U.N. aid corridor into Burma. But he did not disclose further details. Fighting between the AA and the regime has driven over 113,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh since 2023, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
News by Region
MAGWAY—A People’s Defence Force (PDF) spokesperson told DVB that the Burma Air Force dropped at least 50 bombs during fighting between the PDF and a 150-strong regime column in two villages of Salin Township on Saturday. He added that residents had already fled their homes. No casualties were reported.
Salin is located 46 miles (74 km) northwest of the region’s capital Magway. The PDF claimed that regime forces burned down homes and fired artillery that landed in the villages March 12-13.
Pakokku Township residents told DVB that a regime artillery strike killed a two-year-old child on Friday. A PDF member said that at least seven men from Meethwekan village were detained Saturday and had not been released by Sunday. Pakokku is located 105 miles (169 km) north of Magway.
Fighting between the PDF and regime forces have forced thousands of residents to flee their homes since April 28. Residents’ homes were looted and then burned down by regime forces, the PDF claimed. A strike committee spokesperson blamed the arson on the regime Light Infantry Division (LID) 101.
SAGAING—Residents of Salingyi Township told DVB that the Letpadaung copper mine continues to operate with a heavy security presence following the earthquake on March 28. Salingyi is home to three copper mines and is located 26 miles (41 km) south of the region’s capital Monywa.
“[Pro-military security forces] transport copper after stopping for a while in Monywa along the Mandalay-Sagaing road,” a Salingyi resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. At least 50 military personnel, as well as Chinese security guards, are stationed at the mines.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,410 MMK)
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