Airstrikes kill at least 11 in Magway Region
At least 11 civilians were killed and an unknown number were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on 10 villages in Myaing and Pauk townships of Magway Region on Monday. Myaing and Pauk are located 130-136 miles (209-218 km) north of the region’s capital Magway.
“Five jet fighters carried out airstrikes over the villages in the east of Myaing Township. There was no fighting in these villages. The military did this for no reason,” a Myaing resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Myaing has been partially under the control of resistance forces since September.
Pauk Township residents told DVB that at least six were killed and another six were injured by the airstrikes. Fighting between regime and resistance forces occurred in Pauk on Jan. 23, but residents claimed that no fighting has happened since. An unknown number of people living in the 10 villages of Pauk and Myaing fled their homes on Feb. 3 in fear of airstrikes.
Ta’ang National Liberation Army prepares for renewed talks
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) told DVB that China is arranging a second round of peace talks with the regime after the first round failed to reach a ceasefire agreement on Feb. 16. Nine TNLA representatives, including vice chair Tar Jok Jar, attended the first round of talks along with regime representatives in Kunming, China last month.
“We are facing pressure from China to meet with the regime again. We negotiated with them the first time but there was no positive outcome,” Lway Yay Oo, the TNLA spokesperson, told DVB. The date of the second round of peace talks between the TNLA and the regime has not been announced.
But China didn’t announce the first round of talks, nor did it publicize talks between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the regime, which agreed to a ceasefire during its second round on Jan. 18. Fighting between the TNLA and regime forces continues in Tawnghkam, Ongmati and Ongmahkar villages of Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State, which is under TNLA control.
Bangladesh forms new battalion for Myanmar border security
The Border Guard Bangladesh launched its Ukhiya Battalion in Cox’s Bazar District in the country’s southeast on Saturday. This comes after the Arakan Army (AA) seized full control of the 168 mile (271 km) long Burma-Bangladesh border. Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar is located across the Naf River from Maungdaw Township, which came under AA control on Dec. 8.
“The sensitivity of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border has increased to a great extent in the past few years due to the ongoing conflict in Myanmar. As far as the current border situation is concerned, the decision of establishing a new battalion on the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier was the need of the time,” Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, the Bangladesh Home Affairs advisor, told the media.
He added that there have been abductions near Cox’s Bazar and blamed this on Rohingya living in refugee camps. Chowdhury stressed the importance of refugee repatriation to Burma. Nearly one million Rohingya were forced from their homes in northern Arakan into refugee camps in Bangladesh due to a 2017 military crackdown labeled a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing by the U.N. and genocide by the U.S.
News by Region
AYEYARWADY—Shwethaungyan town residents told DVB that more than 100 homes were destroyed by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Magyizin and Gyailal villages of Pathein Township last month. Shwethaungyan is located 43 miles (69 km) northwest of the Ayeyarwady Region capital Pathein.
“We lost [our home] not because of shooting but because of airstrikes,” a resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The regime launched retaliatory airstrikes against the AA Feb. 11-13. Fighting between the regime and the AA continued after it expanded its offensive from Arakan into Magway, Bago and Ayeyarwady regions in December.
ARAKAN—The AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha told DVB that fighting in the state capital Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships continues. The AA launched its attack on two of the remaining three townships under regime control in January.
“The military conducts air, drone, and artillery strikes in response to our attacks,” said Khaing Thukha. Kyaukphyu residents claimed that the AA has fired artillery at the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 34 and the Danyawaddy Naval Base since Feb. 6. Tens of thousands of residents have fled their homes due to the fighting.
KAREN—The Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) released a statement on Saturday saying that power cuts from Thailand into Myawaddy Township have inflicted “suffering” upon ethnic nationality communities living along the Thai-Burma border, who rely on the neighbouring country for their daily “socio-economic needs.”
“The inhumane and unjust measures of cutting off electricity, fuel supplies, and essential goods have disproportionately impacted innocent civilians, creating unnecessary hardship and exacerbating their vulnerability,” stated the BGF in its press release on March 1.
Over 7,000 foreign nationals from 29 countries have been released from cyber scam centers but have been kept at BGF-run facilities in Myawaddy since Feb. 14. Myawaddy is located 140 miles (225 km) east of the Karen State capital Hpa-An and is across the border from Mae Sot, Tak Province of Thailand. Read more.
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