UN Special Envoy warns Myanmar may ‘self-destruct’
Julie Bishop, the U.N. Special Envoy to Burma, told the General Assembly on Tuesday that the country may be on a path to “self-destruction” unless the violence, which has erupted since the 2021 military coup, ended. During a visit to Naypyidaw on April 9, Bishop called for an immediate ceasefire and an increase in humanitarian aid into the country in the wake of the devastating March 28 earthquake.
“I have stressed consistently that without a ceasefire, a de-escalation of violence, and a focus on the needs of the people, there can be no inclusive, lasting peace,” said Bishop, adding that the earthquake survivors she met with during her visit to Burma in April “wanted the fighting to end so they could live in peace.”
Bishop highlighted that attacks have continued during the regime post-quake temporary ceasefire. The regime has carried out 778 attacks since the ceasefire began on April 2, which has killed at least 591 and injured 1,276 in 918 total attacks since March 28, according to DVB data. Bishop told the U.N. that the regime risks fueling “greater resistance and instability” during its elections planned to begin in December.
Children displaced from home in Kachin State need assistance
Aid workers in Kachin State told DVB that nearly 300 children – among the 1,400 residents of seven villages in Hpakant Township who had fled the regime’s counteroffensive and were displaced from their homes – need items ranging from shoes to books. Sources told DVB that fighting between resistance forces, led by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and regime forces have been ongoing in Lonekhin village since May.
Lonekhin is located seven miles (11 km) northeast of Hpakant town, which has been under KIA control since April 2024. An aid worker told DVB on the condition of anonymity that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are sheltering at facilities run by the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), which has also begun enrolling children for the upcoming school year.
The KBC has provided basic education up to Grade 12 since 2011. The regime dispatched two military columns, totaling around 1,000 troops, based in Kachin’s Kamaing and Indawgyi towns on April 23 to retake the jade mining hub of Hpakant town. Hpakant is located 94-166 miles (151-267 km) west of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and the KIA headquarters in Laiza.
Regime outpost in Tanintharyi Region falls to resistance
The Karen National Union (KNU) announced that its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its allied resistance forces, defeated regime forces in two days of fighting and took control of its Bawti outpost in Dawei Township, Tanintharyi Region, on Tuesday.
“The outpost was manned by 40 troops,” Padoh Saw Eh Nar, the KNU secretary for the districts of Myeik and Dawei, told DVB. He added that they recovered the bodies of two killed regime troops inside. The KNU claimed that the other 38 troops stationed at the outpost fled across the border into Thailand.
The Bawti outpost, established by the Myanmar Army in 1997, is located on the Burma–Thailand border adjacent to Kanchanaburi Province. It was reportedly under the command of the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 25, which is headquartered in the Tanintharyi Region capital Dawei. Read more.
News by Region
TANINTHARYI—Authorities in Dawei arrested the head and deputy head doctors at the Metta Yeik Clinic run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) earlier this month. The deputy was later released but this has forced the clinic to suspend operations, sources close to MSF told local media.
“All the senior staff responsible for running the office have been arrested. Since many [other staff] are in hiding, office operations can’t continue. Medicine procurement and distribution have come to a halt. If the remaining stock runs out, we’ll be forced to shut down the clinic,” a source told the Dawei Watch news agency.
CHINLAND—Residents of Tedim Township told DVB that food prices have surged since the Kalay-Tedim road was shut down on May 21. Troops from the regime’s Regional Operations Command (ROC) are advancing toward Tedim, which is located 120 miles (193 km) north of the state capital Hakha and 50 miles (80km) west of Kalay, Sagaing Region.
A Tedim resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the price of a 52 kg bag of rice has risen from 130,000 up to 200,000 MMK. Residents said that cargo trucks are unable to reach Tedim and they are now relying on motorcycle deliveries, which has caused prices to increase.
YANGON—Residents looking for work overseas told DVB on the condition of anonymity that they are accumulating debt. One Yangon resident said he had to borrow 20 million MMK ($4,500 USD) to cover overseas employment agency fees at interest rates of 1.3 million MMK ($300 USD) per month.
The regime Ministry of Labour has limited the number of workers to be sent overseas per month. Over 600 employment agencies are licensed to send workers overseas but only 485 sent a total of 131,501 workers abroad last year, according to the ministry’s figures released in early May.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,450 MMK)
