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Military sends in reinforcements to Karen State; Myanmar nationals arrested for ‘illegal’ school in Thailand

Military sends in reinforcements to Karen State 

An anonymous source in the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 5 Mutraw (Hpapun) District of Karen State told DVB that the military has sent reinforcements to its Kamamaung base, located in Mutraw (Hpapun) Township. Fighting between the KNU armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), and the military there began Dec. 29. Mutraw is located 110 miles (177 km) north of the state capital Hpa-An. 

The source added that all military personnel left the Kataingti base, which is also in Mutraw, after the KNLA and its allied resistance forces attacked it. “The Kataingti base is now empty. After [regime troops] abandoned the base, they moved through the jungle and hid in the villages. The military has conducted air support consistently,” he told DVB. 

The military has more than 10 bases still operational within KNU-controlled Mutraw (Hpapun) District, including Kamamaung and Kataingti, as well as smaller outposts located in the northern part of the district. On Dec. 11, the KNLA seized the military’s Taungthonelone and Sinswe artillery bases, which are located along the Mutraw-Kamamaung Road.

UN warns Myanmar now faces ‘polycrisis’ 

A new report by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) released on Wednesday states that Burma is facing an unprecedented “polycrisis” four years after the 2021 military coup, adding that this has been marked by economic collapse, intensifying conflict, climate hazards and widespread poverty. 

“The coming year will test Myanmar’s resilience to its limits,” the UNDP report warned. “A more stable and peaceful Myanmar that thrives on a legal economy, protects [its] human and natural resource assets and invests in the safety and prosperity of all its people is also in the self-interest of its neighbours and the international community writ large,” the report added. 

The U.N. has documented 3.7 million youth from Burma migrating to Thailand by 2023, where exploitation and forced labour are risks due to restrictive legal migration pathways. Those who remain in Burma are at risk of being forcefully conscripted into the military. But the report does recognize the resilience of people in Burma and the potential of civil society organizations to keep social cohesion in the country.

Myanmar nationals arrested for ‘illegal’ school in Thailand

Police in Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand have arrested four Burma nationals for allegedly operating an illegal Burmese language school for 190 children, aged 3 to 12, inside the Koh Phangan International Church on Koh Phangan island on Tuesday. Thai media reported that two of the suspects face charges for working without a permit.

Charoenchai Boonkliang, an investigative inspector of Surat Thani police,  said that they are searching for the owner of the school, and are investigating if the parents of the children have work permits. He added that the school had been operating for six months and charged 300 Thai baht per day ($8 USD) per student. 

The Thai Education Ministry has ordered local authorities in Surat Thani and Tak Province, on the Thai-Burma border, to investigate illegal Burmese language learning centers after shutting down six in southern Thailand in September. It added that Thai schools could accommodate children from Burma but enrollment was challenging for those with undocumented parents.

Chiang Mai residents and tourists snap photos among the red lanterns during Chinese Lunar New Year in northern Thailand on Jan. 29. (Credit: DVB)

News by Region

ARAKAN—Residents living in areas under the control of the Arakan Army (AA) and its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), told DVB that it has been building up its administration in the 14 townships of Arakan, and Paletwa Township of southern Chinland, which have come under AA control since it launched an offensive on Nov. 13, 2023

“It operates an administration, a judiciary, reconstruction works and provides security,” a Mrauk-U Township resident told DVB. A Maungdaw Township resident added that the AA has been allowing Muslim residents to operate businesses with the freedom to travel. Three townships in Arakan remain under regime control: the state capital Sittwe, the island of Manaung and the deep-sea port of Kyaukphyu.  

AYEYARWADY—The military arrested two business people and seized the fuel and goods they were selling in Mayancho village of Thabaung Township on Tuesday. They were allegedly selling items, including fuel, to the People’s Defense Force (PDF). Thabaung is located 28 miles (45 km) south of the regional capital Pathein. 

“Since they are businessmen they have to sell their goods to any [customer],” a Thabaung resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The two traders were held by police for one day before being sent to the police station in Thabaung to face charges, according to an anonymous source close to the military.

SHAN—The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) announced that the two ethnic armed groups are negotiating territorial disputes after the TNLA allegedly attacked a KIA office in Mantong Township in northern Shan State, located 100 miles (160 km) north of Lashio. The TNLA is accused of demanding the KIA withdraw from Mantong and Kutkai, located 47 miles (75 km) north of Lashio. 

“This issue comes from misunderstandings between troops on the ground. We are working to negotiate between both sides,” Lway Yay Oo, the TNLA spokesperson, told Kachin News Group (KNG). “Creating problems between each other won’t solve anything. That’s why we always say it’s better to negotiate peacefully to prevent the current problems from escalating,” Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, told KNG.

(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,530 MMK)

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