Airstrikes kill eight civilians in Kachin State
Residents in Kachin State’s Waingmaw Township told DVB that eight civilians, including two children, were killed by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in Sadon town on Monday. Sadon is located 52 miles (83 km) east of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and 96 miles (154 km) north of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) headquarters of Laiza. Sadon was seized by the KIA in June 2024.
“Attacking civilian areas is a war crime,” Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, told DVB. The KIA seized control of Tsawlaw, Chipwi, and parts of Waingmaw Township — formerly known as Kachin Special Region One — in northeastern Kachin State on Nov. 20. The regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) scheduled elections in 14 out of 18 Kachin townships, including Waingmaw. The elections will begin on Dec. 28.
A Waingmaw resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that four airstrikes occurred during daytime market hours on Sept. 29. He added that rescue teams have found it difficult to identify those killed as many were dismembered by the blasts. Sources told DVB that a regime counteroffensive against the KIA in Waingmaw has intensified in Lamyan village since Sept. 28.
Tourism to Myanmar drops from pre-2021 coup figures
Tourism business owners in Burma told DVB that they have had to rely solely on domestic tourism since the 2021 military coup. The U.S. Department of State has designated Burma as a “Level 4: Do Not Travel destination,” citing armed conflict, poor healthcare, landmines, and wrongful detentions as of July 2025.
“We’ve received very few international travellers in Mandalay,” a resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Mandalay was one of the six hardest-hit regions during the March 28 earthquake with 2,916 bodies recovered from the rubble of collapsed buildings. Sagaing, which was the epicenter of the quake, Magway, Bago, Naypyidaw, and southern Shan were the other five impacted regions.
Burma received over 1.06 million foreign tourists in 2024, according to the regime’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government reported that 4.4 million international travellers visited Burma in 2019. At least 4,477 people were killed during the quake nationwide on March 28, according to DVB data.
Rohingya villages in Arakan State razed to build military outposts
After the 2017 expulsion of the Muslim minority Rohingya from Arakan State, the military destroyed villages and mosques and repurposed their lands for security outposts, according to a report by the U.N.-backed Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) on Monday.
“Myanmar authorities systematically destroyed Rohingya villages, mosques, cemeteries and farmland. They had knowledge of Rohingya land rights and tenure through official records,” stated the IIIM report. “Private companies and associated individuals played a direct role by providing machinery and labour to bulldoze villages and build infrastructure under state contracts.”
Violence against the Rohingya escalated dramatically in August 2017 when the military launched a “security clearance” operation in northern Arakan in response to Rohingya militant attacks, driving out over 700,000 from their homes into Bangladesh. Some 1.3 million Rohingya stay in refugee camps near Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char. Read more
News by Region
CHINLAND—Residents of Paletwa Township told the Khonumthung News agency that the Burma Air Force carried out an airstrike on the town on Monday. Paletwa, located 287 miles (461 km) southwest of the state capital Hakha, was seized by the Arakan Army (AA) in January 2024.
“One of the bombs fell near the hospital, and two others struck the outskirts of town. I don’t know the extent of the damage yet,” a Paletwa resident told Khonumthung News. An airstrike was carried out on Mindat Township, located 120 miles (193 km) south of Hakha, on Sept. 21.
MAGWAY—Frontline sources told DVB that the AA and its allied resistance forces seized a regime outpost at Gokkyi village, which is located 15 miles (24 km) east of the Natyaykan Air Defence Base in Ngape Township on Sunday. Ngape is 48 miles (77 km) west of the region’s capital Magway.
A source in the AA told DVB on the condition of anonymity that fighting is ongoing near Gokkyi village as regime forces are trying to retake the outpost since Sept. 28. Fighting was also reported at Suntat village, located 10 miles (16 km) south of the Natyaykan base, on Sept. 29.
NAYPYIDAW—The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) chairperson Khin Yi is being accused of violating election laws after he launched his campaign, via USDP social media, on Sunday. Campaign activities are only allowed within 60 days of an election, according to the UEC.
“People in Myanmar have been experiencing violence and terror caused by selfish politicians,” Khin Yi said in a video posted on Sept. 28. “We are ready to make impactful plans and results instead of just reciting slogans.” The regime elections are scheduled to begin on Dec. 28.
SHAN—Residents of Kyaukme Township told DVB that regime forces have reached Hkomone village, two miles (3.2 km) south of Kyaukme town. Kyaukme, located 68 miles (109 km) southwest of the regional capital Lashio, was seized by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in August 2024.
A Kyaukme resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that airstrikes were carried out on TNLA positions. The number of casualties is unknown. A counteroffensive in Kyaukme was launched by regime forces on Aug. 18, following the recapture of Nawnghkio Township from the TNLA on July 16.
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