At least 13 killed by airstrikes on southern Arakan State’s Thandwe

Thirteen Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including children, were killed and 25 others were injured during airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Thandwe Township on Thursday. The southern Arakan State town came under the control of the Arakan Army (AA) on July 16.

“Two fighter jets attacked the City Hall and a government office where the IDPs are sheltering. Thirteen people have been killed so far,” a Thandwe resident told DVB. Two were killed and seven were injured in an airstrike on Kangyidaung village in Myebon Township, located southeast of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, on Wednesday. 

A human right activist based in Arakan State accused the military of “committing war crimes” by targeting civilians and called on the international community to take action to prevent further airstrikes. Nearly 30 civilians have been killed and around 50 have been injured by airstrikes across Arakan since last week. 

Detained Rohingya leader family calls for his release

The family of Dil Mohammed, a 58-year-old Rohingya refugee, called for his immediate release from detention in Bangladesh and filed a case with the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), via his lawyer Haydee Dijkstal, last week. Dil Mohammed has been held by Bangladesh authorities since January 2023.

“I want freedom for my father, and I want these false and baseless charges against him to be dismissed,” said Dil Mohammed’s son Mohammed You Ha. Bangladesh officials accuse Mohammed of being a member of a group that killed a police officer in November 2022. Dijkstal claims that his client was not notified of the charges against him during the time of his arrest and was first brought before a judge on May 30, 2023. 

Dijkstal adds that Mohammed has been subject to solitary confinement, interrogations without legal representation, and other human rights abuses since his arrest. Mohammed fled his home in northern Arakan State to the Burma-Bangladesh border’s “No Man’s Land” during a 2017 military crackdown that killed thousands of Rohingya civilians and led to the exodus of over 700,000 refugees to Bangladesh, where nearly one million live in squalid camps.

Flood death toll continues to rise

Regime media reported on Wednesday that 419 people have been killed by landslides and flooding in 54 townships since the remnants of Typhoon Yagi arrived on Sept. 9. Mandalay and eastern Bago regions, southern Shan and Karen states, and Naypyidaw were the areas of the country most affected.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) stated that an estimated 887,000 people, including IDPs, in 65 townships have been impacted. Nearly 100 injuries have also been reported. The regime went on to state that 533 roads and bridges, 435 religious buildings, 99 telecommunication towers and 735,461 acres of paddy fields were damaged.

The E.U. announced that it will provide $1.3 million USD in flood relief efforts, while Norway has contributed $500,000 USD. The Irrawaddy reported that groups assisting flood survivors are being threatened by regime officials with prosecution under the Counter-Terrorism Law if donations are sent to areas under the control of anti-coup resistance groups.

News by Region

BAGO—A civilian died from injuries caused by a landmine in Yengan village of Letpadan Township, located around 89 miles (143 km) northwest of the Bago Region capital, on Wednesday. He stepped on the landmine on Tuesday and was unable to receive medical care due to military roadblocks not allowing anyone in or out of the village.

“Everyone in the village fled since the military began an offensive last month. They took everything from us. They planted landmines and set fire to homes before they left,” a Yengan resident told DVB. Fighting between the People’s Defense Force (PDF) and the military broke out in Yengan village on Aug. 24.

MANDALAY— Two people were killed by an airstrike carried out by the Air Force on Myaytaing village in Ngazun Township, located around 41 miles (66 km) southwest of Mandalay, on Sept. 24. “We heard the sound, and then two bombs dropped, followed by another set,” a Ngazun resident told DVB.

“There was no fighting near the village and the PDF does not have a presence there,” said a Ngazun PDF spokesperson. Fifteen civilians were killed and nearly 20 others were injured during previous airstrikes on Ngnmyar village in Ngazun Township on Sept. 20-21.

MAGWAY—The Pwintbyu PDF warned on Wednesday that it would take action against anyone assisting the regime in its household and population census in Pwintbyu Township. The regime will carry out its census Oct, 1-15.

“I am completely opposed to any election held without the will of the people,” a Pwintbyu PDF spokesperson told DVB. Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing said that elections are tentatively scheduled – after a census is completed – in November 2025.  

The National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Defense ordered three battalions of the Yaw PDF to return its weapons by Sept. 24. It issued the order two days prior. The PDF is under the command of the NUG.

“I think it is disrespectful to our organization,” Lu Hla, the Yaw PDF spokesperson told DVB. He added that it received four firearms from the NUG and did not use them improperly. The Yaw PDF requested an explanation from the NUG.

SHAN—The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) claimed that four civilians were killed and three others were seriously injured by airstrikes carried out by the Air Force in Hsipaw Township, located around 47 miles (76 km) southwest of Lashio, on Monday. An unknown number of buildings were damaged.

The military has intensified airstrikes on towns occupied by the Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the TNLA, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the AA. At least one person was killed and 18 others were injured by airstrikes on Lashio, which is under MNDAA control, Sept. 24-25. The MNDAA stated that the “continuous airstrikes are hindering [Lashio]’s recovery.”