Gyrocopter attacks kill 17 in Sagaing Region capital
Residents of Sagaing Region’s Monywa Township told DVB that the death toll from a regime gyrocopter attack on Kyaukkar village on Thursday has risen to 17 on Saturday. They added that two gyrocopters had departed the regime’s Northwestern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in the Sagaing Region capital Monywa. Gyrocopters are miniature helicopters used for short-range, low-level attacks typically on defenceless targets, according to security analyst Anthony Davis.
A Monywa resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that three civilians were killed and 14 out of the 20 injured died while receiving treatment at a hospital run by the National Unity Government (NUG). “The military has repeatedly used paramotors and gyrocopters to bomb peaceful gatherings and protected civilian sites—schools, hospitals, monasteries, and houses—across Myanmar’s central lowlands,” according to a Fortify Rights report on Jan. 26.
“The Myanmar military has found new ways to kill civilians from the sky using paramotors and gyrocopters equipped with manually-dropped, unguided explosives,” Fortify Rights added. At least 14 people were killed and 54 others were injured in 29 aerial attacks carried out by regime forces nationwide during the Thingyan Water Festival April 13-16. At least 29 civilians were killed in 51 regime air- and artillery attacks during last year’s Thingyan, according to DVB data.
President Win Myint released in Myanmar New Year amnesty
President Win Myint was released from Bago Region’s Taungoo Prison by Min Aung Hlaing in a Myanmar New Year amnesty, which included 4,514 prisoners, on Friday. Myo Nyunt, an executive member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, confirmed to DVB that Win Myint has been reunited with his family at their rental home in Naypyidaw on April 17.
President Win Myint was ousted in the military coup led by Min Aung Hlaing on Feb. 1, 2021 and has been held in detention over the last five years. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, who was also detained during the 2021 military coup, remains in prison. One of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers told Reuters that her 27-year sentence will be reduced by one-sixth.
One of her lawyers told DVB that she’ll be transferred from prison to house arrest. But no location was disclosed. Win Myint was sentenced to 14 years after being convicted by a regime court of corruption and Section 130-A of the Penal Code which penalizes the “exertion of influence” over Myanmar’s electoral body, the Union Election Commission (UEC), during elections held prior to the coup in 2020. Read more
At least 292 political prisoners freed on April 17
The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) reported on Saturday that 1,686 inmates, including 292 political prisoners, have been released since Friday. The PPNM claimed that Min Aung Hlaing is “trying to fool” the international community by releasing fewer prisoners than the 4,514 he originally announced on Friday.
A source close to Pathein Prison in the Ayeyarwady Region capital told DVB on the condition of anonymity that Tin Min Htut, the NLD secretary in Ayeyarwady, was released on April 17. The source added that 14 political prisoners were among the total 311 inmates freed from five prisons across Ayeyarwady on April 17.
A total of 20,872 prisoners have been granted an amnesty so far this year in three rounds with the two previous occurring on Peasants’ Day March 2, and Independence Day Jan. 4. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) reported that 22,170, who were arrested for opposition to the 2021 military coup, remain behind bars.
News by Region
YANGON—Sources at Insein Prison told DVB that filmmaker Shin Daewe was among those released in an amnesty announced by Min Aung Hlaing on Friday to mark the New Year. “She’s reunited with her family,” Shin Daewe’s husband Ko Oo confirmed to DVB, adding that she’s in good health.
Yangon’s Insein Prison Court handed a life sentence to Shin Daewe, 52, under the Counter-Terrorism Law on Jan. 11, 2024. The award-winning filmmaker and former DVB reporter was arrested at Aung Mingalar Highway Bus Station in Yangon on Oct. 15, 2023, while picking up a drone. Read more
KARENNI—The Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC), a provisional government established by resistance groups in 2023, announced on Friday that it had granted an amnesty to 234 prisoners jailed in prisons run by the IEC across the state.
Khu Oo Reh, the IEC chairperson, did not provide DVB with any details regarding those who were released from prisons across Karenni. Mese, Shadow and Hpasawng townships are under resistance control while Demoso, Hpruso, Bawlakhe and the state capital Loikaw are under regime control.
CHIN—The Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) stated on Wednesday that four members of the Chin resistance were killed during a CNDF-led seizure of a military outpost in Falam Township’s Khunli village on April 14. Falam, located about 68 miles (109 km) north of the state capital Hakha, was seized by the Chin Brotherhood in April 2025.
A CNDF spokesperson told DVB that fighting against regime forces in Falam is ongoing. More than 300 military personnel from Tedim Township, located 47 miles (76 km) south of Falam, were deployed at the outpost. A military counteroffensive to regain control of Falam began in January.
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