Kachin Independence Army seizes three military outposts
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied resistance forces, including the People’s Defense Force (PDF), seized the Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) 319 and 601, as well as the Artillery Battalion 523, in Mansi Township on Thursday. Mansi is located 133 miles (214 km) south of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina.
“All three battalion headquarters were captured,” a KIA source told DVB on the condition of anonymity. “There was a significant capture of prisoners of war, alongside substantial quantities of weapons and ammunition,” the source added. The KIA launched its offensive to capture the three military outposts near Mansi town on Monday.
It took control of the Mansi police station last May. In southern Kachin State, the LIB 47, an armored battalion, a logistics battalion, a general engineering battalion, the Military Operations Command (MOC) 21 in Bhamo, and a military hospital located between Bhamo and Momauk are still under regime control.
Regime carries out airstrikes on Kachin State
The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) reports that fierce fighting between the KIA and the military in Bhamo District, located 121 miles (194 km) south of Myitkyina, has led to air and artillery strikes carried out by the Burma Air Force and Army on Wednesday.
“The KIA and allied forces have established footholds within city neighborhoods and are engaged in close combat with troops near several military bases. The regime forces are defending with heavy artillery and extensive air support,” Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, told DVB.
The KIO information team reported that airstrikes have destroyed an unknown number of civilians’ homes and buildings in Bhamo and Mansi. DVB was unable to confirm with the KIO the number of casualties since the KIA launched its most recent offensive against the military in southern Kachin on Dec. 4. The KIA launched its statewide offensive against the regime on March 7.
Burmese Women’s Union celebrate its 30th anniversary
The 30th anniversary of the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU), as well as the 10th anniversary of its media outlet Honest Information (HI), was celebrated under the theme: “We dare, we challenge Patriarchy!” in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Jan. 7.
“We have trained and built the capacity of many of the young women [in Burma]. Because of this, after 30 years BWU is still running strong,” said Tin Tin Nyo, a BWU board member. “[Women in Burma] have never accepted any sort of military rule. Instead, they would like to restore human rights, democracy and gender justice.”
BWU was established on Jan. 7, 1995. It is a founding member of the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), an umbrella organization established in 1999 to include women from all ethnic nationalities with the aim of increasing their participation in the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. Check out our photos from the event.
News by Region
KAREN—The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) told DVB that it and the Border Guard Force, which was renamed as the Karen National Army (BGF/KNA), along with the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, shut down “gambling rings” in Myawaddy Township, located along the Thai-Burma border 80 miles (128 km) east of the Karen State capital Hpa-An.
A Myawaddy resident told DVB that gambling operations were closed only for five days during the Karen New Year celebrations which began on Dec. 30. “It doesn’t look like [gambling rings] will be permanently closed. This is how they make [profits],” another Myawaddy resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
SAGAING—National Unity Government (NUG) appointed administrator Ngwe Thein was killed by two unidentified gunmen at his home in Tingokekyi village of Kanbalu Township on Monday. Kanbalu is located 120 miles (193 km) north of the region’s capital Sagaing. The town is partly under the control of the PDF.
“Two men with a motorcycle arrived at the administrator’s home. Family members thought they were PDF and prepared coffee. Then, they fired at the administrator and killed him instantly,” a Kanbalu resident, close to Ngwe Thein’s family, told DVB. A PDF member said that the bullet casing found at the scene was known to be produced at the military’s defense equipment factory (KaPaSa).
SHAN—The Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) announced on Tuesday that two homes and a vehicle were destroyed by artillery shelling carried out by the military on Htison village of Hsihseng Township on Tuesday. Hsihseng is located 53 miles (85 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 38 miles (61 km) north of the Karenni State capital Loikaw..
“The Burma Army has conducted daily artillery shelling on Pa-O villages,” said a PNLA spokesperson. Twenty-four homes have been destroyed by artillery shelling since November during fighting between the military and the PNLA. Hsiseng came back under military control last March after it was occupied by the PNLA for two months.
YANGON—A source close to the police reported that a Thaketa Township resident, over age 50, was killed by an unidentified gunman on Kannar Road in Kyimyindaing Township on Monday. The man was allegedly shot while trying to cross the road.
“It happened during the day in the middle of the road. The [unidentified] gunman held a gun in a white bag and opened fire from the road as vehicles drove by. The man’s body was transported to Yangon General Hospital,” said a Kyimyindaing resident. The police stated that the murder is still under investigation.
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