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Concerns raised over National Unity Government plans to establish its first ministerial offices in Sagaing Region

An airstrike was carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on Khampat town of Tamu Township on Monday. This is the second airstrike on Khampat, located 242 miles (389 km) northwest of the regional capital Sagaing, since the National Unity Government (NUG) announced plans to establish its first ministerial offices in Sagaing Region. 

On Jan. 16, airstrikes on Khampat and Kanan village in Tamu killed two, including a child, with at least seven others injured

“They might have expected that we might try to establish an office there. But our offices are in multiple locations,”  Kyaw Zaw, the NUG President’s Office spokesperson, told DVB. 

He added that most NUG ministers are inside the country administering areas under its control, which includes Khampat, Shwe Pyi Aye, Maw Luu and Pinlebu in Sagaing Region, Myothit in Magway Region, as well as Singu, Tagaung and Thabeikkyin in Mandalay Region

“On the ground, there is conflict within various mechanisms like the [NUG administration] and other revolutionary forces,” said Khant Wai Phyo, a member of the Monywa Strike Committee, which was established after the 2021 coup in Sagaing’s largest city and administrative centre.

The NUG administers areas under its control with what is called “The Three Pa’s” because they all begin with the Burmese letter Pa. This includes the people’s administration team, the people’s security team, and its armed wing, the People’s Defence Force (PDF). 

“[The] people interact with our ‘three pa’s’ system every day. The capabilities and ethics of the teams directly interacting with the public are crucial for gaining solid public support and trust,” said NUG Acting President Duwa Lashi La.

He has called twice for NUG ministers, currently in exile, to return to Myanmar. Last week, he announced reforms to address rising concerns in the NUG leadership and with its financing. NUG Prime Minister Mahn Win Khaing Than accused some members of “deviating from the revolutionary path.” 

“One of their shortcomings is that they don’t encourage more open debate, open criticism. I think they’re a very immature political movement, that they don’t welcome people trying to justifiably criticize them,” David Mathieson, an independent analyst on conflict and human rights in Myanmar, told DVB.

Resistance forces such as the Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA) and the Mandalay PDF have announced plans to relocate to Myanmar’s “Anyar” or dry zone located in the country’s upper central plains, which includes Sagaing Region. 

A PDF member there said that there is a need from the NUG to help unify various local PDF units under a central command structure. This would possibly avoid further confusion and conflict on the frontline. He added that this is how inclusive political dialogue can be achieved in the future.

Nway Oo from the PDF Civil Defence and Security Organisation of Myaung (CDSOM), in Myaung Township, believes that conflict is inevitable while attempting to govern remotely, but once the NUG establishes its ministerial offices inside the country that any problems will be resolved quickly.

Zaw Tuseng, the founder and president of Myanmar Policy Institute (MPI), told DVB last year that establishing a federal unit in Sagaing Region modelled on bottom-up federalism, as proposed by resistance groups, is necessary. 

Soe Win Swe, a politician in Sagaing, expressed concerns that the NUG governance model may diverge from this type of federalism – due to its perceived top-down structure – as some NUG ministers were members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party and government from 2015-21, before it was ousted in the 2021 coup. 

Airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force pose a significant security concern as Sagaing is one of the most frequently targeted by the regime’s indiscriminate aerial bombardments. 

At least seven civilians were killed and nearly 10,000 were displaced from their homes in Pale town, by airstrikes, in November.

The most devastating airstrike in Myanmar’s history took place on Apr. 11, 2023, when up to 168 civilians, including 38 children, were killed in Pazigyi village of Kanbalu Township. Pazigyi residents were attending the opening of the NUG administrative office in the village.

In Sagaing, over 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes due to the conflict since the 2021 coup. The U.N. states that this is 35 percent of the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), which is over 3.5 million nationwide.

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