Airstrikes intensify in Rakhine State since deadliest kills 50
At least one civilian was killed and two others were injured during seven separate airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township on Monday. Ponnagyun, 20 miles (32 km) north of the state capital Sittwe, was seized by the Arakan Army (AA) on March 4, 2024. Ponnagyun residents said that four fighter jets attacked.
One resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the IDP camp sheltered thousands of residents who had fled their homes in Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships due to the fighting between regime forces and the AA since 2024. At least six residents were killed and seven others were injured in two airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on an IDP camp in Ponnagyun called “Byarla” on Oct. 4.
Wai Hun Aung, a humanitarian aid worker in AA-controlled territory, told DVB that the death toll could rise once the search-and-rescue operations are completed. He added that seven of the nine injured were in critical condition at the hospital in Ponnagyun. The Philippines expressed deep concern on Saturday after at least 50 were killed by airstrikes in Arakan’s Kyauktaw Township on Sept. 28.
Read more about the airstrikes in Rakhine on our website
Check out the DVB Dashboard on aerial attacks in Myanmar
Nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals return home from Malaysia
A total of 1,476 Burma nationals who were deported from immigration detention centers in Malaysia arrived home on Sunday, despite warnings from the United Nations refugee agency and rights groups that conditions for return remain unsafe. The returnees, including 86 women, have been convicted of staying illegally and other immigration violations in Malaysia, regime media reported.
The 1,476 were transported from Malaysia aboard three Burma Navy vessels on Sept. 29. They arrived at the port in Yangon on Oct. 4, according to the regime. The returnees are among the total 5,000 Burma nationals who will be repatriated in stages from Malaysia, where 10,388 others are being held at immigration detention centers, according to Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry.
“Under international law, the Government of Malaysia is obligated to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and prevent the return of individuals to situations where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious human rights violations,” said Kelley E. Currie, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, in a statement on Thursday.
Read the full article on our website
Read about Aung Hlaing’s upcoming visit to Malaysia
Canada urged to sanction Myanmar’s oil and gas sector
A coalition of 92 Canadian and international human rights organizations—including members of the Burma diaspora—has submitted a joint letter to Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, calling on Ottawa to expand its sanctions against Burma to cover its entire oil and gas extraction sector. Canada has sanctioned 150 individuals and 92 entities linked to the military in Burma.
The signatories warned that international energy projects continue to serve as a vital financial lifeline for the regime in Naypyidaw. The petition highlights a major regulatory loophole: current sanctions targeting the regime-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) fail to stop foreign enterprises from operating in the sector as long as they avoid direct contracts with MOGE.
The groups specifically pointed to Calgary-managed and Singapore-based Canadian Foresight Group, which holds an 80 per cent operating interest in the 13,480-square-kilometer offshore Block M-15 concession in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Tanintharyi Region, where development plans could generate revenue for the regime equal to 40 per cent of Burma’s foreign currency earnings.
Read the full article on our website
Check out our Myanmar Sanctions Monitor
News by Region
SAGAING—At least 10,000 acres of farmland across the region may soon be submerged after the regime administration discharged water from the Thaphan Seik Dam on Thursday, which they claim is due to water exceeding the dam’s capacity. The farmland is located in territory contested between regime and resistance forces.
Residents in Shwebo, Depayin, Khin-U, Myinmu and Wetlet townships, located 36-70 miles (57-112 km) northeast and southeast of the region’s capital Monywa, accuse the regime of deliberately attempting to deprive resistance forces of food supplies ahead of an impending counteroffensive. Read the full article on our website
TANINTHARYI—Rescue groups have called for a ceasefire in areas inundated by flood water to allow them to reach over 22,000 residents from 3,000 households in urgent need of food and drinking water in Yebyu, Thayetchaung and Dawei townships. Thayetchaung has been contested between regime and resistance forces since 2024.
“Our biggest difficulty is getting food,” a Tanintharyi resident told DVB. Thirty-two bodies have been recovered in Dawei, Launglon and Thayetchaung since flooding began on Sept. 24. The three towns are located about 12–20 miles (19–32 km) north and south of the region’s capital. Read the full article on our website
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,470 MMK)
Read our story and check out our photos from ‘Ray: The Movie’ film screening in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Oct. 4.
