FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM

Another UN official meets with regime to discuss cyclone relief efforts

Danielle Parry, the acting head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Burma, met with the regime Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Thet Thet Khine in Naypyidaw on July 5. The two discussed the delivery of aid to cyclone survivors in Rakhine State. No international humanitarian groups have been permitted access to cyclone-impacted communities since June 8. Parry wants the regime to allow UNOCHA to resume its work. A Rohingya resident of the Dar Paing Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Sittwe Township said that it has not received any assistance. “Nothing has been done about the shelters in the IDP camps so far. They are also facing food shortages,” he told RFA. 

Mon armed group in Naypyidaw for talks

The New Mon State Party (NMSP) met with the regime’s State Peace Talks Team (SPTT) in Naypyidaw on July 5-6, regime media reported. Both sides reportedly discussed “implementation of the previously agreed points.” NMSP Vice Chairman Nai Aung Min and members of the party’s central committee attended the meeting. The NMSP is a signatory of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) but was previously absent from a meeting between the regime and other NCA signatories on June 26-27.

News by Region

AYEYARWADY—An earthquake measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale occurred near Myanaung town on July 6, stated the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. This followed another earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale near Paletwa in Chin State on July 5. There have been no reported casualties or damage as a result.

CHIN—The Chinland Defense Force (CDF) Tonzang issued arrest warrants for the Tonzang Township administration chief and education chief. This is due to their refusal to comply with a National Unity Government (NUG) directive not to run schools under the regime. The CDF claimed that it discredits the Chin resistance and the Spring Revolution. The CDF has announced it will take action against all regime-affiliated organizations in Tonzang Township.

The Kanpalet Public Administration announced on July 4 that over 300 employees from the Kanpalet Township Education Department have been blacklisted for collaborating with the regime. An official from the administration stated that they have plans to compile additional blacklists with people’s names working in other sectors under the regime. 

KACHIN—The Burma Army accused a school in Hoang Pang village, Hpakant Township of being affiliated with the NUG and threatened to shut it down with force. “On July 1, the army held a meeting with the village administrator and instructed them to shut down the school,” a Hoang Pang villager told DVB. Locals claimed that the school may be targeted by airstrikes if it does not comply with the Burma Army’s demands. Villagers assert that the school is run by locals. Not the NUG. More than 200 students are currently enrolled at the school.

SAGAING—Fifteen civilians were killed in a rocket attack in Ngwedwin village, Ayadaw Township on July 5. The military stated that seven people including three Buddhist monks were injured and are now being treated at a military hospital. It blamed the People’s Defense Force (PDF). The PDF claims that those killed were members of the pro-regime militia. “They often shell our civilian area, therefore we attacked their base,” a local fighter told AFP on the condition of anonymity. He added that the PDF seized weapons from the militia during the attack.

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