FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM
Min Aung Hlaing meets with Thai general
Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing met with Kittisak Boonprathamchai, the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Royal Thai Army, in Naypyidaw on Jan. 16. Other Thai and Burmese military officials also attended the meeting.
Regime media reported that the two sides discussed “peace and stability, rule of law, counter-terrorism, and exchange of information at border areas of both countries.” On Jan. 12, Min Aung Hlaing attended a virtual meeting with Thai Army Chief Songwit Noonpackdee. They reportedly discussed cracking down on online gambling and scam centers operating in Myawaddy Township of Karen State.
Bangkok has continued to engage and meet with Naypyidaw despite its exclusion from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits since 2021 for failing to implement the Five Point Consensus and end all violence in the country.
Brotherhood Alliance claims military broke ceasefire
The Brotherhood Alliance claimed that a China-backed ceasefire was broken by the military on Jan. 16 when it attacked the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone of northern Shan State.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) claimed that the ceasefire reached in Kunming, China on Jan. 11 was over two days after the truce was signed as the military resumed attacks and airstrikes on Mongmit, Kyaukme and Kutkai in northern Shan State on Jan. 13.
The Brotherhood Alliance and the military agreed to halt all fighting in northern Shan State and to reopen China-Burma border trade. The military agreed to halt airstrikes and artillery strikes on MNDAA and TNLA controlled areas if they stopped seizing territory.
Arakan Army captures another military outpost
The Arakan Army (AA) captured the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 539 outpost near Kansauk village in Kyauktaw, Arakan State on Jan. 16. It claims that 300 Burma Army troops and their families surrendered. The number of casualties is unknown.
The AA began its attack on the LIB 539 and the 377 Artillery Battalion near Kansauk village on Jan. 11. The artillery battalion was seized on Jan. 14, with the nearby LIB 539 surrendering on Monday.
The LIB 539 outpost is located next to the Yangon-Sittwe road at the foot of Mount Kansauk. Twan Mrat Naing, the AA commander-in-chief, called on all Burma Army personnel in Arakan State to surrender to the AA, in an online post, on Jan. 15.
News by Region
SHAN—The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) claimed that both pilots of a fighter jet were killed when it was shot down by it and the Kachin People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Kutkai Township on Jan. 16. “The downed FTC-2000G, a two-seat aircraft, resulted in the deaths of Major Aye Myint and Captain Kyungsan,” a KIA official told DVB.
The KIA also claimed that it killed four of ten Burma Army personnel that arrived at the crash site to conduct rescue operations. The jet was among six aircraft that were purchased from China in 2022, according to military data.
AYEYARWADY—Regime administrators are compiling a list of names from each ward and village in Kyonpyaw Township to form pro-military militias. “They said it is for the village’s security but I think we don’t need one,” said a Kyonpyaw resident.
Five alleged military informants, three pro-military militia members, and one police officer have been killed. More than 100 civilians, including teachers, have been arrested in Ayeyarwady Region since the 2021 military coup.
CHIN—The Chinland Defense Force (CDF) stated that eight of its fighters and around 30 Burma Army soldiers were killed during the seizure of a military outpost near Teingin village in Tedim Township.
The outpost, which had been under attack since Jan. 12, was captured by the Chin resistance on Jan. 16. The CDF claimed that six airstrikes were carried out during the fighting.
“Capturing this base was particularly difficult compared to other military camps. Our comrades suffered greatly due to the heavy weapons used by the military in the battle,” said a CDF spokesperson.
TANINTHARYI—A resistance group calling itself the Dawei Guerrilla Revolutionary Force announced on Jan. 15 that 63 of its members had joined the Ba Htoo Army, which was formed on Jan. 1 to fight the military.
“They expressed their continued commitment to fighting against the military council. We allowed their resignation, as we share the common goal of opposing the same enemy,” a DGRF spokesperson told DVB.
The National Unity Government (NUG) Minister of Defense Yee Mon told Dawei Watch that it is investigating Ma Ma Gyi, a Ba Htoo Army commander, over allegations he was involved in the killing of seven military informants while second-in-command of the Launglon People’s Defense Force (PDF).
DVB Fact Check program examines the 176 media workers jailed since 2021, including the recent life sentence handed to award-winning filmmaker Shin Daewe (link in Burmese).
