FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM

Toyota factory opens in Burma

Toyota Motor Corporation announced on Oct. 12 that it has begun assembling automobiles at its factory in Burma, according to Reuters. Read more about the story here. 

Former security official receives prison sentence

A Naypyidaw court sentenced Aung Naing Oo to 10 years in prison on Oct. 13, sources close to the court told BBC. The former deputy director of security at the President’s Office and head of security for Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted of violating the Official Secrets Act. Aung Naing Oo faces another charge under the Counter-Terrorism Law. He was arrested in October 2021. 

Security forces seize NLD office in Mon State 

Security forces seized a home belonging to the parents of Khun Myint Tun, Chairperson of the Pa-O National Federal Council (PNFC), in Thuwanna Wati, Thaton Township on Oct.12. Authorities said the house was connected with “terrorist organizations.” The home was also the local National League for Democracy (NLD) branch since 1988, Khun Myint Tun told DVB. Since the coup, around 100 houses of NLD party members and supporters have been confiscated in Mon State.

News by Region

KAREN—Khun Aung Kyaw Moe, chair of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) for Hpa-an District was killed in his home in Thamanya village, Hpa-an Township on Oct. 13. “He was lying in a pool of blood with two gunshot wounds and we don’t know who the culprit was,” an area resident told DVB. |

RAKHINE—The junta charged the Deputy Education Head of Minbya Township, Tin Myo Zaw, under Section 17 (1) of Unlawful Associations Act. It accuses Tin Myo Zaw of supporting the Arakan Army (AA). According to a local civil servant, he was collecting donations to assist families displaced by the conflict. “This [collection of money] is being collected to support IDPs. It is ok if people don’t donate…It is not just for Minbya alone. It has been collected from the staff of every department in Rakhine State townships,” he told DVB. 

In Kyaukphyu, some residents have fled the town after arrests were made on the suspicion of associations with the AA. “Locals can’t do their jobs peacefully. They are worried about when they will be arrested…Now, they [the Burma army] raid houses and arrest residents both day and night if they have any suspicions,” a Kyaukphyu resident claimed. From September to October 11, 28 locals were arrested on accusations of having ties with the AA. Only three minors and two others were released. Some of them have been charged under Section 17 (1) of Unlawful Associations Act.

SAGAING—Two displaced people now hiding in the forests of Kanbalu Township were bitten by a snake on Oct. 9. Despite both having been injected with antivenom, one of them was in critical condition. “The difficulties of traveling in the region and shortages of antidote lead to preventable deaths,” a medic from a local resistance group told DVB. Locals said that it is difficult to transport medical supplies to certain areas. The cost of antivenom was around K35,000 ($16.76 USD) per bottle, but has surged to K85,000 ($40.47 USD). Each snakebite victim needs to be administered three to seven doses. An information officer with the Sagaing Ayadaw People’s Defense Force (PDF) told DVB last July that it is necessary to keep antivenom for emergency usage. Burma’s dry zone regions of Sagaing, Magway and Mandalay are home to many venomous snakes. In Kanbalu Township alone, 20 displaced people have been bitten by snakes so far this year. Two have died due to lack of medical attention.

YANGON—Bomb blasts and shootings occurred in Hlaing, North Okkalapa and Mayangone townships on Oct. 12. A shooting occurred just after explosions took place at Bayinnaung interrogation center in Hlaing Township. “I learned that the interrogation center was attacked with explosives and firearms…I heard gunfire,” a resident told DVB. Similarly, the Burma Army detonated two unexploded devices found near a transformer in front of Star World KTV in North Okkalapa Township.

Another explosion occurred at the housing compound of the regime’s telecommunications unit on Taw Win Road in Mayangone Township. The resistance group War of Hunter Revolution Force announced that it had detonated a remote-controlled bomb. “I heard that some equipment was damaged,” a local said. There was no initial report of casualties due to the attacks. There have been three killed and 12 injured in gunfire and explosions this month in the commercial capital.

A 20-year-old delivery man was killed in Hlaing Thar Yar’s Shwe Linban Industrial Zone, on Oct.12. It was reported the victim was stabbed to death with a scalpel and his belongings were taken. Burma’s crime rate has soared since the 2021 coup as economic and political turmoil persists.