The Ta’ang National Liberation Army claimed that at least 11 civilians were killed by airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force in Namkham Township. (Credit: TNLA)
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) claimed that at least 11 civilians, including two children and a pregnant woman, were killed by airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force in Namkham Township, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of the Myanmar-China border town of Muse in northern Shan State on Friday. Eleven other civilians were injured during the airstrikes, the Brotherhood Alliance member added.
“We don’t know the exact [number of people killed] yet because the injured are [receiving treatment] at the hospital,” a member of a local rescue team in Namkham told DVB. “What we can confirm is that a family of three has been killed,” said a Namkham resident.
Three different areas of the town were struck by the military’s aerial bombardments. Namkham has been under TNLA control since December. There has been no fighting between the TNLA and military in Namkham since then. But an airstrike was carried out Wednesday on Namkham, residents reported. They added that there were no casualties.
“The Burma military’s daily bombardment using 500-pound bombs on civilian targets is a blatant war crime,” the TNLA stated on Friday.
The military has stepped up its use of airstrikes on towns and territory under the control of resistance groups over the last week. The TNLA reported that the military attacked Mantong on Sept. 3 and Hsipaw on Sept. 4, killing one civilian and injuring three others. Both towns are also under TNLA control.
The TNLA has seized control of at least 10 towns since the Brotherhood Alliance launched Operation 1027 in northern Shan State on Oct. 27. A ceasefire brokered by China on Jan. 11 brought a temporary halt to the military’s battlefield losses to the Brotherhood Alliance. But fighting resumed on June 25, which has come to be known as Operation 1027 Second Wave by groups resisting the 2021 military coup.
Namkham Township residents survey the damage after airstrikes hit the town early Friday morning. (Credit: TNLA)
Phoe Zaw is a self-taught demining expert who's efforts have won him the approval of residents of his township and local resistance groups in Myanmar's eastern Karenni State.
Phoe Zaw has removed over 100 landmines in Myanmar’s Karenni State, where a war has been fought against the military since it staged the 2021 coup overthrowing the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). Phoe Zaw is a self-taught demining expert who’s efforts have won him the approval of residents of his township and local resistance groups
DVB English News Weekly Briefing for Sept. 6, 2024. In this week’s briefing: Arakan Army Commander Twan Mrat Naing speaks; Min Aung Hlaing makes surprise visit to Karenni State capital; Myanmar economics specialist says regime digital currency plan won’t stop inflation; Plus, a Pe Maung Same Film Fund to be established in his memory.
Arakan Army Major General Twan Mrat Naing spoke to the media for the first time since his armed group was accused of killing civilians. (Credit: Reuters)
“Even if we intended to harm the Muslims, we wouldn’t do it on the bank of the Naf River where the international community could see. If that were our goal, we would have done it in the mountains between Buthidaung and Maungdaw,” Twan Mrat Naing told The Irrawaddy founder Aung Zaw. “How could we possibly kill them in front of witnesses?” he asked.
When questioned about the international response to the alleged killing of Rohingya civilians as they were attempting to flee the fighting between the AA and the military to seek refuge in Bangladesh, Twan Mrat Naing said that he has considered holding discussions with civil society groups. “But now it’s clear that they are openly siding with the enemy,” he added.
Over 1,000 women killed by military since 2021 coup
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that at least 1,132 women have been killed by the military since the coup on Feb. 1, 2021. It added that a total of 5,649 women have been arrested.
“Women across the country have taken a leading role in protests against the military dictatorship. Despite facing dire consequences, namely arbitrary arrest, killing, torture, and sexual violence for these acts of defiance, their bravery and relentless efforts in the fight for truth during the Spring Revolution deserves commendation,” stated the AAPP.
Women make up 20 percent of those that have been killed and 20.7 percent of those arrested for political reasons since the 2021 military coup, states AAPP data. It added that it is verifying the actual death toll and that the number killed may be much higher.
Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing holds a meeting at the military’s Regional Control Command in Loikaw on Sept. 4. (Credit: Regime media)
Min Aung Hlaing makes surprise visit to Karenni State capital
The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) Deputy Commander-in-Chief Maui Pho Thaike told DVB that his troops fired artillery shells at the Karenni State capital Loikaw during Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to the Regional Control Command there on Wednesday. He was reportedly not injured.
“I think [Min Aung Hlaing [is trying to reorganize his army and persuade people to return to the city under [military] administration. He talked about reconstructing buildings destroyed by our revolutionary forces, to begin the census, and persuade people living in areas controlled by us to return,” he added.
Regime media reported that Min Aung Hlaing met with his officials in Loikaw. He also met with Aung Kyaw Khine, the head of the Regional Control Command. The KNDF launched Operation 1111 in an attempt to seize Loikaw on Nov. 11, but the military was able to regain control of the Karenni State capital by July. The military launched a counteroffensive last month against the KNDF in Demoso, which is located 11 miles (18 km) south of Loikaw.
News by Region
KARENNI—Two civilians were killed and an unknown number were injured during an airstrike by the military on Nanmaekhon town in Demoso Township on Wednesday. “We had to hide inside a bunker as two aircraft dropped bombs and fired rounds of shots,” said a Nanmaekhone resident.
KAREN—The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the military were engaged in battle over an outpost in Myawaddy Township, located near the Thai-Burma border, on Wednesday. The KNLA has been trying to seize the military outpost since March.
“The military fired heavy artillery indiscriminately during the fighting,” a KNLA source told DVB. “We can hear the sounds of both small and large weapons,” said a Myawaddy Township resident. There have been no reported casualties. KNLA-led forces seized the vital border trade town for 12 days in April.
MANDALAY—A resistance group calling itself the Brave Warriors for Myanmar claimed that seven military personnel, including three officers, were killed after it fired missiles at the Central Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Aungmyaythazan Township on Tuesday.
“Seven people, including the personal security officer of [regime] deputy Soe Win, were killed according to our informant,” a spokesperson of the group told DVB. It claimed that Soe Win was inside the Central RMC during the attack, but that he was not injured and returned to Naypyidaw. Mandalay residents said that one man was injured and three homes were damaged during the attack.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) claimed that it has been taking care of 138 elephants and their mahouts that have been involved in timber production for the regime’s Forest Department, which is under the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, in Singu and Thabeikkyin townships of northern Mandalay Region since July 10.
YANGON—Anti-coup protest groups called the Four Groups of Yangon Revolutionary Brothers staged a flash mob protest against China in Yangon on Wednesday. The protestors wore masks, burned the Chinese flag, and held banners that read: “If we burn, you burn with us”.
Rohingya refugees mark the 7th anniversary of the 2017 military crackdown in Burma that led to them seeking refuge in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on Aug. 25. (Credit: Reuters)
Nearly 8,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh in recent months
The number of Rohingya who have fled across the border to Bangladesh from Burma to seek refuge from the fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and military in northern Arakan State has reached nearly 8,000 over the past few months, according to Bangladesh officials.
Mohammad Touhid Hossain, Bangladesh’s foreign affairs advisor, urged other countries to take greater action to support the Rohingya. The U.N. has stated that there are 630,000 Rohingya living in Arakan State. A 2017 military operation in northern Arakan forced over 700,000 Rohingya to flee into Bangladesh, which was labeled a genocide by the U.S. in 2022.
Bangladesh asked to protect Rohingya
The Burmese Rohingya Organisation U.K. (BROUK) released a statement on Tuesday calling on the interim government of Bangladesh to take action to support Rohingya refugees. It recommended that Dhaka strengthen security in refugee camps located near Cox’s Bazar, stop pushing back Rohingya trying to leave Burma, and increase financial support for refugees.
“The interim government has a crucial opportunity to affirm its commitment to human rights by immediately halting pushbacks and ensuring that all refugees receive the protection and support guaranteed by international law,” said Tun Khin, the BROUK president.
China Special Envoy meets Kachin Independence Army
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) spokesperson Naw Bu confirmed to DVB that the ethnic armed group met with China’s Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun to discuss Burma-China border security. He said that the KIA met with a delegation from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Deng Xijun, in Tianjin, located 85 miles (137 km) southeast of the capital Beijing, during the last week of August.
“I didn’t know the exact details of what was discussed yet,” Naw Bu told DVB. Political analyst Dr. Hla Kyaw Zaw said that Deng Xijun has met with all ethnic armed groups operating in northern Shan State, including the United Wa State Army (UWSA), last month to discuss peace along the 1,323 mile (2,129 km) long border. DVB has yet to confirm meetings between members of the Brotherhood Alliance and Chinese officials.
News by Region
Homes were destroyed by artillery shells fired by the military in Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State, on July 27. (Credit: KNDF)
KARENNI—The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) stated on Tuesday that the military burned down more than 40 civilian homes in villages located along the Loikaw-Demoso Road in August. The military launched a new offensive against the KNDF around the state capital Loikaw on Aug. 1.
“We withdrew our forces from some areas in Loikaw but the military did not retake [it]” a KNDF spokesperson told DVB. He claimed that the KNDF seized control of two military outposts in Bawlakhe Township, located in central Karenni State, in August.
KACHIN—The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO/KIA) announced that it started operating public transit services in areas under its control on Sept. 2. Buses now connect the KIO headquarters of Laiza to surrounding Waingmaw and Bhamo townships. Bus fare per trip costs 2,500-5,000 kyat.
“The service is run by the KIO because it is difficult for people to travel in the area,” a resident of Laiza told DVB. This is the first public transit system offered in Kachin. The KIA has seized control of several military outposts along the Bhamo-Myitkyina road, as well as the Burma-China border town of Lwegel, since it launched its offensive against the military on March 7.
MANDALAY—The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) spokesperson Lway Yay Oo told DVB that it is providing free internet access in Mogok Township, located 128.5 miles (207 km) northeast of Mandalay. Some residents have complained to the TNLA that they’ve been charged 5,000 kyat per hour to access the internet.
“There are people who purchased Starlink and are offering access in exchange for payment. We have two Starlink devices in our offices in the east and west of the town, but we are providing free internet access,” said Lway Yay Oo. The regime cut off all telecommunication services to Mogok after the TNLA seized control of the town on July 24.
SHAN—Min Aung Hlaing arrived in the state capital Taunggyi on Monday. Residents reported that security has increased and street vendors were ordered to close until Sept. 7 when he is scheduled to leave. Police officers and armed men in civilian clothes were seen patrolling Taunggyi streets.
“Motorbikes are not allowed to park beside main roads. Night markets will be closed [until Saturday]. People are not allowed to line up to buy edible oil. We heard he will visit Shwe Bone Pwint pagoda to perform a ritual,” a Taunggyi resident told DVB.
Born in Burma Arts performed its first live concert at Rangoon Nights on Aug. 31. (Credit: DVB)
Born in Burma Arts, a band from Myanmar living in Thailand, held its very first concert at Rangoon Nights Bar in Chiang Mai on Aug. 31. The band told DVB that they will soon be releasing their first album. See photos from the concert.
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