Prisoners face cut in food rations for two months
The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) told DVB that prison officials have reduced inmates’ food intake over the last two months, citing budget constraints. Nearly 200 inmates – approximately 15 percent of the total prison population – at Myingyan Prison in Mandalay Region have suffered from weakened limbs due to malnutrition, PPNM has documented.
“They’ve removed meat entirely and replaced it with eggs,” Thaik Tun Oo, the PPNM spokesperson, told DVB. The Karenni Political Prisoners Association (KPPA) reported malnutrition among 20 political prisoners at Loikaw Prison in January. Prisoners nationwide, including in Loikaw, have reported the absence of meat, or poorly cooked meat, in their meals since March.
Prisoners at Mandalay’s Meiktila and Obo prisons, as well as Patheingyi juvenile center, Bago Region’s Paungde and Daik-U prisons, and Ayeyarwady Region’s Pathein Prison, have reported reduced food rations. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented there are 22,106 political prisoners in Burma.
Ten People’s Defence Force members killed by Indian Army
The National Unity Government (NUG) confirmed to DVB that 10 People’s Defence Force (PDF) members were killed by the Indian Army’s paramilitary force Assam Rifles in Tamu Township, Sagaing Region, on May 14. Tamu is located along the Burma-India border 210 miles (338 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa.
“We’re coordinating with the Indian government for further investigation,” Nay Phone Latt, the NUG Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson, told DVB. The Assam Rifles reportedly arrested the 10 PDF members as they were on patrol along the Asia Highway inside Burma on May 14. The 10 bodies were recovered on May 16.
A Tamu resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the Assam Rifles told the NUG that the PDF members were killed during fighting across the border in India’s Manipur State. The Indian Army reported that it killed 10 militants during an operation in Manipur’s Chandel district on May 15.
Two days of consecutive airstrikes on Rakhine State
Thousands of residents from Kyauktaw Township in Arakan State have been forced to flee their homes in the Ywarma neighborhood following two consecutive days of airstrikes that killed 11 civilians and injured at least 14 others on May 14-15. Kyauktaw is located 60 miles (96 km) north of the state capital Sittwe.
“We have no place to run as the military has carried out airstrikes across the country, including Arakan State,” a Kyauktaw resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. At least four airstrikes were carried out in two consecutive days by the Burma Air Force using three fighter jets, which destroyed at least 27 homes.
Kyauktaw came under the control of the Arakan Army (AA) after the Military Operations Command (MOC) 9 headquarters was seized in February 2024. The AA condemned the airstrikes, adding that they will be reported to international monitoring groups. The regime’s unilateral ceasefire during April was extended May 6-31.
News by Region
NAYPYIDAW—Residents of Tatkon Township told DVB that flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall on Sunday have displaced more than 400 people from two villages. They said that mountain runoff and the swelling of the Nawin creek caused water levels to rise as high as four feet (1.2192 meters).
The displaced residents are taking shelter at a monastery in the township. The capital reported 617 deaths due to the March 28 earthquake, according to DVB data. Tatkon is located 37 miles (59 km) north of Naypyidaw, which is located 169 miles (272 km) south of the earthquake epicenter in Sagaing Region.
MON—The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Lieutenant Colonel Saw Thein Naing was reportedly arrested during a raid by the regime’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force on his apartment in the state capital Mawlamyine on May 17.
“Seventy pill-shaped [containers] used to make [methamphetamine] tablets were seized inside his apartment,” a source close to the DKBA told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) announced that he is now under investigation.
AYEYARWADY—Over 80 homes belonging to residents in 13 different townships were sealed off by regime authorities from January to April, according to residents. The homeowners are alleged to have supported “terrorist organizations.”
“My friend’s home in Lemyethna Township was sealed on April 30 by military personnel because they believe my friend has connections to the PDF,” a Lemyethna resident told DVB. Several of the 80 homeowners have been charged with sedition, treason, or under the Counter-Terrorism Law or Unlawful Associations Act.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,400 MMK)
DVB has documented that 3,646 people have been killed in 343 mass killings by the regime since it took power in a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
