National Unity Government claims resistance controls 144 townships
The National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Defense claimed on Saturday that its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force (PDF), along with Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs) have seized 144 out of 330 townships nationwide with 48 of them under full resistance control. Seventy-nine townships remain contested between the military and the resistance.
The regime in Naypyidaw, which took power after the 2021 coup, has 107 townships under full military control. “[Duwa Lashi Law], again, invited ministers who are abroad to return to the country.” said Kyaw Zaw, the NUG spokesperson, after the NUG Acting President’s New Year’s Day Address on Jan. 1 to the people of Burma. “Ministers at home and abroad will work together to strengthen the revolution in 2025,” he added.
The NUG stated that Khampat, Mawlu, Pinlebu and Shwe Pyi Aye in Sagaing Region, as well as Singu, Tagaung and Thabeikkyin in Mandalay Region, along with Myothit in Magway Region, are under PDF control. It has launched attacks against the military in at least 67 towns of Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Bago and Tanintharyi regions. Eleven towns located along Burma’s borders with China, India, Bangladesh and Thailand have been seized by the resistance since the uprising to the 2021 coup began.
Malaysia intercepts boats with 300 Myanmar nationals
Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama reported that the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) intercepted two boats carrying 300 Burma nationals off the southwest coast of Palau Rebak in Langkawi, located 302 miles (487 km) north of Kuala Lumpur, on Friday.
“It is estimated that nearly 300 individuals were on board. The [MMEA] provided immediate assistance, including food supplies and drinking water, before escorting the boats out of Malaysian waters to continue their journey,” said Mohd Rosli Abdullah, the MMEA director general.
He added that the MMEA was working closely with Thai authorities to gather more information about the boats and added that maritime communities should report suspicious activities to a hotline or the Langkawi Maritime Rescue Sub Centre. Malaysia detained 196 Burma nationals at Langkawi’s Pantai Teluk Yu after a boat ran aground there on Jan. 3. Malaysian authorities stated that all were “believed to be Rohingya.”
Rohingya call for assistance from new ASEAN chair
As Malaysia begins its tenure as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, a Rohingya human rights organization based in Kuala Lumpur calls on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to use the time – before Philippines takes over as 2026 chair – to assist in ending genocide against the Rohingya and restoring democracy in Burma.
“We urge the [U.N.] and its member states to send [a] peacekeeping force to [Arakan] State to ensure the safety of the population,” said Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, the president of the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization in Malaysia (MERHROM).
He added that the international community should deploy emergency humanitarian aid to northern Arakan, where 60,000 have fled recent fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military. MERHROM called for an improvement in security conditions in the Bangladesh refugee camps, and increased resettlement quotas for Rohingya to reach safety in third countries.
News by Region
MON—The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) told DVB that only six – out of 250 prisoners freed on Saturday – were political prisoners at Kyaikmaraw Prison. Kyaikmaraw is located 11 miles (17 km) south of the Mon State capital Mawlamyine.
“We are still waiting to get confirmation from Thaton Prison [on how many political prisoners were released there],” Thaik Tun Oo, PPNM spokesperson, told DVB. He added that a total of 259 political prisoners – and not 600 announced by the regime on Jan. 4 – have been confirmed released so far from six prisons nationwide. The regime claimed that it freed a total of 6,044 prisoners on Jan. 4.
CHINLAND—The Chin National Defense Force (CNDF) told DVB that seven prisoners of war (POWs) and one CNDF member were killed by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Khunlon village of Falam Township on Saturday. Falam is located 71 miles (114 km) north of the Chinland capital Hakha.
“Four others were injured,” a CNDF spokesperson told DVB. Fighting between the military and the Chin Brotherhood in Falam began on Nov. 9. A total of 45 POWs arrested by Chin resistance forces in Falam on Nov. 12 were being detained inside a building that was hit by an airstrike on Jan. 4.
ARAKAN—Ponnagyun Township residents told DVB that four civilians were killed when two villages were hit by airstrikes on Sunday. Ponnagyun is located 20 miles (32 km) northeast of the Arakan State capital Sittwe. The township was seized by the AA during fighting with the military in March.
“Residents received a mobile signal near Taungpuk village, so many went there to make phone calls. The aircrafts opened fire on the crowd gathered there, as well as in another nearby village, which killed civilians instantly,” a Ponnagyun resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,470 kyat)
