Airstrikes on Arakan Army-run detention center
Airstrikes were carried out by the Burma Air Force on a detention facility holding regime troops taken as prisoners of war in Chaungtu village of Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, on Tuesday, sources close to the Arakan Army (AA) told DVB. Kyauktaw, located 60 miles (96 km) north of the state capital Sittwe, was seized by the AA in February 2024.
A witness told DVB on the condition of anonymity that casualties were still being counted. At least 21 people were killed and 30 others were injured by airstrikes at the same facility on Jan. 20. At least 210 civilians have been killed in 141 aerial attacks on AA-controlled territory since March 28, according to DVB data. The AA has seized 14 out of Arakan’s 17 townships since it launched its offensive against regime forces on Nov. 13, 2023.
A military analyst in Arakan State told DVB on the condition of anonymity that this was the fifth time the Air Force has attacked detention centers under AA control in Arakan State. Nearly 100 detainees have been reportedly killed by airstrikes on four detention centers located in Pauktaw, Maungdaw, Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships, according to the AA.
Myanmar migrants among 6,200 detained in Malaysia
Malaysia’s Immigration Department reported that at least 6,200 foreign nationals, including migrants from Burma, were detained for alleged immigration offences in 1,700 “enforcement operations” conducted nationwide since Jan. 1.
“We will step up inspections at Ramadan bazaars to ensure they are free from illegal immigrant involvement,” Lokman Effendi Ramli, the immigration deputy director-general of operations, told Malaysian media on Feb. 14. Approximately 27,000 foreign nationals were inspected during the immigration operations, according to the department.
Ramadan bazaars are seasonal street markets that are typically set up in the days and weeks leading up to the Islamic holy month of fasting, which is expected to begin today and end on March 18. Employers hire mostly migrant workers during this season. Burma nationals represent the largest group of migrants in Malaysia. Read more
India border trade into Myanmar suspended for 60 days
Traders along the Burma-India border told DVB that a district court in India’s Lawngtlai district ordered a two-month-long trade suspension from Mizoram State into Burma’s Paletwa Township, located in southern Chinland, on Monday. This border trade suspension order comes after a truck driver from India reportedly died in Burma, from unknown reasons, on Feb. 12.
“Losses will be huge if the authorities do not reopen the trade route. I’ve heard that there are negotiations between authorities from both sides,” a trader from Burma living in India told DVB on the condition of anonymity. He added that hundreds of traders from Burma are unable to deliver their perishable goods from Mizoram State into Chinland. The AA seized Chinland’s Paletwa Township on Jan. 14, 2024.
Another trader from Burma told DVB that the border trade suspension ordered by a court in India until April 16 would impact commodity prices in both Chin and Arakan states. Land and sea routes into Arakan have been blocked by regime forces since 2023. Negotiations between the AA and authorities in Mizoram State are ongoing, according to traders.
Read our latest DVB English News op-ed: Indigenous sovereignty in the India-Myanmar borderlands.
News by Region
CHIN—Residents in Matupi Township protested against forced recruitment carried out by the Chin Defence Force (CDF)-Daai, a member of the recently-formed Chin People’s Army (CPA). Matupi, located 173 miles (278 km) south of the state capital Hakha, was seized by the CDF in July 2024.
A Matupi resident told Chin World that they accept voluntary recruitment into resistance forces but object to forced recruitment, which includes breaking into homes and detaining young males. The CDF-Daai has been accused of recruiting 20 minors under the age of 16 since 2021.
KAREN—A source close to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) told DVB that regime forces have intensified their attacks in order to take full control of the Myawaddy-Kawkareik Asia Highway, a border trade route into Thailand, since Feb. 14.
A military analyst told DVB that regime forces, along with the Karen State Border Guard Force (BGF) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), have been carrying out attacks against the KNLA on the Asia Highway since fighting resumed there on Sept. 5, 2025. Read more
SAGAING—Residents of Nyaung Pin Gyi Su village in Khin-U Township told DVB that three people were killed and six others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Tuesday. Khin-U is located 70 miles (112 km) northeast of the region’s capital Monywa.
A Khin-U resident told DVB that three bombs were dropped near a school compound despite no fighting between regime and resistance forces in the area. Two school buildings and five homes were destroyed. Two civilians were injured by an airstrike on Nyaung Pin Gyi Su village on March 3.
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