Brotherhood Alliance and Shan State Army attack Lashio
Four civilians were killed and two others were injured after artillery shells landed on two homes located on Thaya Road in Lashio during fighting between the military and the Brotherhood Alliance in northern Shan State on Wednesday.
“Gunfire and artillery sounds have been heard since the morning. We don’t know where to run,” said a Lashio resident. A truck driver added that the fighting started Tuesday between the military’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 68 and the Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
The Shan State Army (SSA/SSPP) has also reportedly joined forces with the MNDAA and the TNLA to fight against the military in Lashio. The Lashio-Nampong Road is shut down. Shan media reported that fighting is also occurring near the Northeastern Command Headquarters.
UN calls on India to stop detention and deportation of Rohingya
The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on India to end the detention of Rohingya refugees and stop their deportation to Burma, where they could face serious human rights violations and abuses.
The CERD added that India “end racial discrimination against Rohingya and to remove restrictions preventing them from enjoying their rights without discrimination, in particular with regard to access to employment, health and education, especially by ensuring the issuance of long-term visas and other identity documents.”
It expressed alarm over reports of Rohingya being deported from India to Burma, which would violate the international legal principle of non-refoulement despite India not being a signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention. The CERD is a group of 18 independent experts monitoring racial discrimination globally.
A year on: Thuzar Maung and her family are still missing
Debbie Stothard, the founder and coordinator of human rights group ALTSEAN-Burma, spoke to DVB to mark the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of refugee activist Thuzar Maung along with her husband and three children from their home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 4, 2023.
“Recently, [U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk] visited Malaysia and met with refugees and I hope he at least raised Thuzar Maung’s case with the Malaysian authorities. This is clearly an act of transnational repression,” said Stothard.
Thuzar Maung is a refugee from Burma living in Malaysia since 2015. Following the 2021 military coup, she criticized the regime in Naypyidaw and worked closely with the National Unity Government (NUG). Malaysian police are still investigating. Her friends and colleagues believe that she was targeted for her political activism and work with the NUG.
News by Region
ARAKAN —Five civilians were severely injured during an airstrike on Myonpyin village, located in Thandwe Township, on Tuesday. “Many homes were destroyed. People are facing difficulties due to a shortage of medicine,” said a Thandwe resident.
Myonpyin village has 160 households with more than 300 residents. It is located along The Thandwe-Taungup road. Fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 55 began in Thandwe on July 2.
CHINLAND—Three members of a family, including a four-year-old child, were killed when a place they were staying at temporarily in Aizawl, Mizoram State of India, was destroyed by a landslide on July 2. The family had reportedly fled their home in Chinland to seek refuge in India since the coup.
“It has been raining heavily these days. Since the houses here were built on the hillside, many landslides occur. The bodies have been recovered,” a relative of the family told DVB. In May, 29 people living in Aizawl died following landslides brought about by Cyclone Remal.
SHAN—A total of 295 Chinese nationals and 12 Burma nationals were arrested in Tachileik and Mandalay on charges of operating online scam businesses, regime media reported. The Chinese nationals were detained in Tachileik on Friday.
Regime authorities seized 900 mobile phones and other electronics allegedly used for cyber scams and online gambling. In Mandalay, 12 Burma nationals were detained, six laptops and 63 mobile phones were seized on June 27.
NAYPYIDAW—The military’s first batch of conscripts were sent to the frontline, according to families of the conscripted. Graduation ceremonies were held at military training centers across the country on June 28.
“My relative who completed his training in Yangon on June 28 was sent to Sagaing. His parents are deeply concerned,” a family member of a conscript told DVB.
The military training began on March 29 at 12 training centers across the country. The regime has since expanded this to 19 training facilities nationwide. The second batch of conscripts are now receiving military training. The third batch was recently recruited. Women aged 18-27 will be conscripted starting next month.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) demands the release of journalist Htet Aung. The Development Media Group staff reporter and an office guard were sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor.
