A tactical change for the resistance to military rule?
The People’s Defence Force (PDF) is considering how to use “guerilla warfare” tactics against regime forces during its ongoing counteroffensive, which has seen the control of seven towns return to military rule so far this year. Sagaing Region’s Mawlu, Indaw, Tigyaing, and Banmauk, as well as Chin State’s Falam, Mandalay Region’s Tagaung, and Karenni State’s Hpasawng have all returned to regime control since January.
Soe Win Swe, an anti-regime politician based in Sagaing, told DVB that losing towns “doesn’t hinder” the armed resistance to the 2021 military coup. A political analyst told DVB on the condition of anonymity that all resistance forces, including the PDF, are facing a shortage of ammunition since the United Wa State Army (UWSA) was ordered to stop selling weapons to armed groups due to “pressure” from China last year.
Regime media reported that the 341-mile (548 km) road connecting Mandalay to southern Kachin, via Sagaing, was reopened on May 6 after the military took control of all 12 towns along the route. Military analysts told DVB that regime forces may be attempting to reinforce their besieged positions in Kachin’s Bhamo Township via this road. The KIA’s offensive to seize Bhamo from the military has now stretched into its second year.
Read our latest DVB English News op-ed: How Myanmar’s Spring Revolution is evolving toward unity – Part 2.
MNDAA expands administration in northern Shan State
Residents of northern Shan State’s Hsenwi Township told DVB that the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) has been issuing household registration documents and identification cards since May 1, at 6,000 MMK ($1.42 USD) and 18,000 MMK ($4.28 USD) respectively. Hsenwi, located along the Hsenwi-Lashio road 31 miles (49 km) north of the Shan State regional capital Lashio, was seized by the MNDAA in 2024.
A resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that MNDAA-issued household registration and ID card holders may apply for a 15-day border pass that allows travel from MNDAA-controlled territory into China’s Montain (Minton), Nansan, and Mangshi. The MNDAA told DVB that it’s built a new checkpoint at the Chinshwehaw border trade hub in Laukkai Township, the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone (SAZ).
The MNDAA reportedly plans to issue household registration and ID cards to residents of Kutkai town, which it seized from its ally Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) on March 15. It controls Laukkai and Konkyan, constitutionally recognized as the Kokang SAZ, as well as Hsenwi, Kutkai, Mongkoe, Chinshwehaw, Hpawnghseng, and Kunlong in northern Shan, which were seized during Operation 1027 that began on Oct. 27, 2023.
UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun honors monks from Myanmar
Burma’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, joined Buddhist monks who completed a “Walk for Peace” from Texas to Washington, D.C. at the U.N. headquarters in New York City on Tuesday to honor their humanitarian efforts on the International Day of Vesak, which is the most sacred day for millions of Buddhists as it commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha.
“In Myanmar, such Buddhist practices have become more challenging than ever since the illegal military coup and subsequent atrocities of the military,” Kyaw Moe Tun told the delegates and monks gathered at the U.N. headquarters on May 12. He sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on May 4, referring to the situation in Burma as a “heartbreaking double crisis” marked by acute food and fuel shortages.
Kyaw Moe Tun described the situation faced by Burma’s 55 million citizens as being trapped between a desperate military and a collapsing economy, citing the poverty rate as 49.7 per cent of the population—nearly 26 million people. Kyaw Moe Tun has remained Burma’s ambassador to the U.N. over the last five years despite attempts by the military to have him replaced since the 2021 coup, which he publicly denounced on Feb. 26, 2021.
News by Region
ARAKAN—Residents in the capital Sittwe told DVB that a 90-day operation, which began in April, to inspect overnight guest lists is intended to determine whether local news and information is being shared with independent Burmese media, or “armed groups.”
The order was made by the regime’s Arakan State Chief Minister Naing Oo after he was appointed to the position by Min Aung Hlaing on April 6. An aid worker in Sittwe told DVB on the condition of anonymity that 50 temporary shelters set up at monasteries are being inspected this month. Read more
CHIN—Four civilians and regime troops held prisoner were killed during nine airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Mindat Township on Monday, according to Chin resistance forces. Mindat, located 127 miles (275 km) south of the state capital Hakha, was seized by the Chin Brotherhood in December 2024.
A resident told DVB that airstrikes occur in Mindat “almost daily.” The counteroffensive against resistance forces is ongoing in Tedim and Tonzang, located 68-145 miles (109-233 km) north of Hakha. The Chin resistance controls four towns. The regime controls Hakha, Thantlang, Falam and Tedim.
SAGAING—The PDF reported on Tuesday that at least 10 regime troops were either killed or injured by landmine attacks carried out by the PDF in Yinmabin District on Sunday. No civilian casualties were reported. Yinmabin is located 28 miles (45 km) west of the region’s capital Monywa.
Yinmabin residents told DVB that over 30,000 people have been displaced from their homes since an attack originating from the Northwestern Regional Military Command (RMC) in Monywa began on April 28. Kani and Pale townships, placed under martial law on April 23, have been under PDF control since 2021.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,150 MMK)
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