Min Aung Hlaing returns to Myanmar after China visit
A delegation led by regime leader Min Aung Hlaing arrived at Ayelar Airport in the capital Naypyidaw on Sunday after a visit to Kunming, China. Government employees, students, police officers, soldiers, and celebrities were instructed to welcome the delegation at the airport, a civil servant in Naypyidaw told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
It was Min Aung Hlaing’s first visit to China since the 2021 military coup. “By inviting Min Aung Hlaing to the Mekong summit, China extended implied recognition to him as Myanmar leader, something they have avoided doing up to now,” Richard Horsey, the senior Myanmar advisor at International Crisis Group, told DVB.
“He also had a meeting with Premier Li Qiang, but there was no invitation to visit Beijing or any meeting with [Chinese President] Xi himself.” Explosions occurred on the runway and parking lot of the Ayelar Air Force base on Nov. 5, shortly after the delegation departed for China. Min Aung Hlaing visited Moscow, a close ally to Naypyidaw, and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022.
UN states over two million in Arakan State at risk of famine
The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) published a report stating that over two million people living in Arakan State are at risk of starvation in the next 12 months. This is due to the sea and road blockades imposed by the military on Arakan, as well as the statewide decline of rice cultivation.
The U.N. warned that the economic conditions in Arakan may further increase tension between the Rohingya and Rakhine communities. “As the crisis worsens, the lack of resources and opportunities will continue to fuel tensions and trigger a greater exodus of youth and families. This would have repercussions both within Myanmar and beyond its borders,” added the UNDP report.
The U.N. called for military blockades on Arakan to be lifted and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the state. Fighting between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) has escalated since the AA launched its offensive on Nov. 13. At least 511,000 people have been displaced from their homes due to armed conflict across Arakan, according to the U.N.
Over 100,000 homes destroyed by arson attacks since coup
The research group Data for Myanmar has documented that more than 100,000 homes were destroyed during arson attacks conducted by the military since the 2021 coup. Over 73,000 homes were burned down in Sagaing Region. Another 26,583 homes were set ablaze in Magway and Mandalay regions, as well as in Arakan and Chinland.
“The majority of homes were in Sagaing, Mandalay and Magway regions and Arakan State. More than 5,700 homes in Buthidaung of Arakan State may have been burned down due to intense fighting between the [AA] and the military in April and May,” stated the Data for Myanmar report.
It documented that pro-regime forces have burned down 21,023 homes so far in 2024. In 2023, 31,484 homes were burned down. In 2022, 46,856 homes were burned down. In 2021, 2,111 homes were destroyed by arson. The data collected was based on reports from local media and civil society groups. Data for Myanmar states that the actual number of homes burned down by arson may be higher.
News by Region
ARAKAN—Two women were killed and five others were injured by airstrikes conducted by the Burma Air Force in Thandwe and Buthidaung townships on Sunday. Five civilians, including a monk, were injured in Buthidaung and some of them are receiving medical treatment due to injuries.
“Two women were killed instantly after the bombs dropped by a fighter jet landed on a shop in Thandwe. The shop and other buildings were destroyed,” a resident told DVB. The AA took full control of Thandwe on July 16.
KACHIN—The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) told DVB that it seized control of Lanse village in Tsawlaw Township, located around 120 miles (193 km) northeast of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina near the China-Burma border, on Sunday. Lanse is located in the Kachin Special Region 1, which is administered by the Kachin Border Guard Force (BGF).
“Resistance forces led by the KIA attacked pro-military militia outposts in Lanse on Saturday and seized the village the next day. The troops abandoned the outpost and joined forces with other [pro-military] militias in Khaunglanhpu, Puta-O district,” a KIA member told DVB. He added that Kanpaikti town in Waingmaw Township, which is located 78 miles (126 km) east of Myitkyina, is the last remaining stronghold of the pro-regime Kachin BGF in the Kachin Special Region 1.
SHAN—Pinlaung Township residents claimed that the pro-military Pa-O National Organization (PNO) and regime troops stole and harvested over 1,000 acres of rice paddy belonging to residents of Banmauk, Saunglan and Nammapu villages since the first week of November. These three villages are located in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone of southern Shan State.
“We had to leave our homes without having a chance to harvest our own crops. They took our crops,” a Banmauk resident complained to DVB. Pinlang residents claimed that the PNO used drones to attack villagers who returned to their fields. At least five civilians have been killed by artillery shelling and airstrikes conducted by the military during clashes with resistance forces in Pinlaung since September.
YANGON—A police station in Hlaing Township charged Ngar Min Swe, a former opinion columnist for regime media, with violating Section 505(A) of the Penal Code for “incitement” against the military on Sunday. He was arrested in Mon State’s Kyaikto Township on Saturday for allegedly criticizing Min Aung Hlaing on social media.
Ngar Min Swe was sentenced to seven years in prison for sedition in September 2018 for his social media posts that accused State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi of “causing bloodshed between the army and people.” He was released from prison shortly after the 2021 coup and has reportedly helped organize pro-regime rallies nationwide since then.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,520 kyat)
