Ethnic armed groups to resolve dispute in northern Shan State
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) told residents of Mantong Township in the Palaung Self-Administered Zone of northern Shan State on Friday that it will resolve the dispute between it and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Eleven KIA members were injured by TNLA personnel on Feb. 27. Mantong is located 50 miles (80 km) north of the regional capital Lashio.
“It is time for both [TNLA and KIA] to recognize its differences and to strengthen cooperation. We must keep in mind the commitments of our alliance. We must exercise caution to prevent unwanted problems between our alliance and resolve tensions through negotiation,” said TNLA Commander-in-Chief Tar Hol Plarng at the meeting in Mantong on Feb. 28.
The TNLA spokesperson Lway Yay Oo told DVB that the 11 injured KIA personnel were attacked in Manmawk village, which is located five miles (8 km) between Mantong and Momeik townships, on Feb. 27. Both towns are under TNLA control. A video surfaced online Jan. 26 showing a fight between members of the two ethnic armed groups in Kutkai Township, located 47 miles (75 km) north of Lashio.
UN Human Rights Chief calls Myanmar ‘a litany of human suffering’
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council on Friday that Burma is home to one of the world’s worst human rights crises and described conditions there as a “litany of human suffering.” Over 3.5 million people are displaced from their homes and 15 million face hunger with two million at risk of famine.
“Conflict, displacement and economic collapse have combined to cause pain and misery across Myanmar and civilians are paying a terrible price,” said Türk. “Given the humanitarian, political and economic impacts fuelling instability across the region, the international community must do more.”
He reiterated his call for an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against the regime in Naypyidaw, including on aviation fuel and dual-use goods that can be used for civilian and military purposes. The U.N. documented the killing of over 1,800 civilians in 2024, many by indiscriminate air- and artillery strikes on schools, places of worship, and healthcare facilities.
Over 500 Karen State residents flee into Thailand
Residents of the Karen State capital Hpa-An and Hlaingbwe townships told DVB that over 500 families fled their homes and across the border into neighbouring Thailand due to fighting between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the regime’s Aung Zeya column on Thursday.
In Kawkareik Township, nearly 200 homes and three monasteries were destroyed by arson in Kawnwe, Ywarthitkone and Tittanku villages on Feb. 27. “The military has been using air- and artillery attacks [in Karen State]. [Regime] forces raided three villages, stole belongings from homes, then burned the homes down,” a witness to the arson attack told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
Fighting between KNLA-led resistance forces and the regime’s Aung Zeya column has been taking place along the Kawkareik-Myawaddy stretch of the Asia Highway since April. This regime counteroffensive began after the KNLA seized a military outpost in Myawaddy Township for 12 days. Myawaddy is located 80 miles (128 km) east of Hpa-An.
News by Region
KARENNI—The Progressive Karenni People Force (PKPF) claimed that nine civilians were killed and more than 70 homes were destroyed by military attacks, including arson, as well as air- and artillery strikes carried out in the Karenni State capital Loikaw, and Pekon Township of southern Shan State, last month.
“At least 30 homes were destroyed in the third week of February [alone],” Banyar Aung, the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) secretary, told DVB. The PKPF has documented the killing of nearly 500 civilians, including 177 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and 703 resistance members over the last four years since the 2021 military coup.
SAGAING—Monywa Township residents told DVB that they are concerned about the unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind in the town after regime forces fired heavy shells during fighting over a hilltop military outpost near Khatakant village, which was seized by the resistance on Wednesday.
“The regime forces in the town launched artillery after we attacked a military outpost,” a member of the resistance in Monywa told DVB. The resistance claimed that 11 military personnel were killed and their ammunition was confiscated during the seizure of the outpost on Feb. 26.
SHAN—The regime administration in Kalaw Township’s Bawhseng town, in southern Shan State, imposed a 10 pm to 4 am curfew and a ban on gatherings of up to five people on Feb. 24. Bawhseng is located 40 miles (64 km) northwest of the Shan State capital Taunggyi.
“The curfew has been imposed for one month. Everyone is concerned about this,” a Bawhseng resident told DVB. A source close to the regime administration said the curfew will be extended if necessary. Residents claimed that the number of gambling rings and illegal mining in the town has increased following the 2021 coup.
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