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Eighty-nine Chin resistance members killed in Falam Township

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Kalay residents of Sagaing Region welcome resistance forces returning from Falam Township of northern Chinland, where they fought alongside the Chin Brotherhood in seizing the town from the regime. (Credit: Kalay Revolution Force)

A founding member of the Chin Brotherhood told Khonumthung News that 89 members, and members of allied resistance groups, were killed during the five-month-long offensive to wrest Falam Township in northern Chinland from regime control. 

“These victories belong to all oppressed people,” Salai William Chin, the Secretary-General of the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF), told DVB. The CNDF is a member of the Chin Brotherhood, which was established in December 2023 by Chin resistance forces.

Falam is located 68 miles (109 km) north of the state capital Hakha. It was seized by Chin resistance forces on April 9 after first launching its offensive against regime forces in Falam on Nov. 9. 

At least 15 resistance groups fought alongside the CNDF and the Chin Brotherhood. This includes the Arakan Army (AA), which has lent support to Chin resistance forces since it seized Paletwa Township in southern Chinland in January 2024. Paletwa is 287 miles (461 km) south of Hakha. The AA controls 14 out of 17 townships in neighbouring Arakan State.

Salai Timmy, the CNDF spokesperson, told Khonumthung News that 40 of the 89 killed in Falam were CNDF members, including two medical personnel. He added that another 30 members lost limbs and 500 were injured. The capture of Falam was a symbolic victory for the CNDF as it celebrated its 4th anniversary on April 13.

Salai William Chin told DVB that a total of 91 CNDF members have been killed and another 63 have been disabled over the last four years in over 170 battles against regime forces. He claimed that the CNDF has seized a total of 13 regime outposts in Chinland since 2021. 

Fourteen towns in Chinland are under resistance control, including the Myanmar-India border town of Rihkhawdar. Hakha, Thantlang, and Tedim remain under regime control. Thantlang is 22 miles (35 km) west of Hakha. Tedim is 177 miles (284 km) north of Hakha.

At least seven civilian homes were damaged by an airstrike in southern Chinland’s Mindat Township on Wednesday. No casualties were reported as most residents had fled their homes during fighting there between resistance and regime forces last year.

The Chin Brotherhood seized Mindat, along with Kanpetlet Township, in December. Mindat and Kanpetlet are 171-189 miles (275-304 km) south of Hakha. Two previous airstrikes killed six civilians, including two children, injured 10 others and damaged the Mindat Baptist Church on April 9 and 13, 

DVB data states that 161 air and artillery attacks have been carried out nationwide since a ceasefire was declared by the regime from April 2-22. A total of 224 attacks have killed 156 people and injured 282 since the earthquake on March 28. 

The Chin Brotherhood is the armed wing of the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC), which was formed in response to the 2021 military coup by the Chin National Front (CNF), elected lawmakers, along with members of the Civil Disobedience Movement, which are striking civil servants who refuse to work under the military.

The CNF left the ICNCC in April 2023 due to an internal dispute. It established the Chinland Council, which led to fighting between the two factions, the Chin Brotherhood and the CNF-led Chinland Council forces, last year. But the two sides agreed to reunite and form the Chin National Council in February. 

Red Cross faces funding shortage in Myanmar earthquake relief

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An unknown number of bodies were recovered from the Great Wall Hotel, located in Mandalay’s Maha Aungmyay Township, after it was demolished on April 9. (Credit: DVB)

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Thursday it had received only a fraction of an emergency appeal for 100 million Swiss francs ($122.40 million USD) to help recovery efforts after Myanmar’s powerful quake last month.

The 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28, one of the strongest to hit the country in a century, killed more than 3,600 people, flattened communities and left many without food, water and shelter.

“Only 10% of our 100 million Swiss franc appeal is funded – a lot less than we would have expected. It’s not nearly enough,” Alexander Matheou from the IFRC told Reuters via video link in Mandalay.

The organisation said a broad decline in international donations, exacerbated by cuts to U.S. funding by President Donald Trump’s administration, has caused a funding shortfall.

“We have around 200,000 people living on the streets because it is not safe to go home. They are in need of shelter, water, food and sanitation support,” Matheou said.

“There is destruction of full streets and houses, as well as huge cultural heritage destruction to temples, mosques and churches,” he added.

There have been more than 400 aftershocks in the last 10 days. Thousands of people are living outside as they are scared to shelter inside houses that have been badly damaged, the IFRC said, adding it is concerned that the coming monsoon season could make conditions even worse.

The earthquake came at a vulnerable moment for Myanmar, after four years of military rule and civil war that has crippled infrastructure and displaced millions.

Some 3,645 people were killed in the quake, with 5,017 injured and another 148 missing. Nearly 49,000 houses and more than 2,100 government buildings were destroyed, the military has said.

REUTERS

Malaysia PM set to meet Myanmar regime leader amid opposition to talks

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivers a speech at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Investment Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on April 8, 2025. (Credit: Reuters)

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is set to hold talks in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday with Myanmar regime leader Min Aung Hlaing to push for a ceasefire extension, a meeting criticised by some groups battling the military in the quake-ravaged nation.

Anwar, as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc of 10 nations, has said he will meet Min Aung Hlaing on humanitarian grounds, although ASEAN has barred the Myanmar regime from its summits since April 2021.

“There’s a possibility of the junta exploiting these opportunities to build up legitimacy within the ASEAN framework,” said Sai Kyi Zin Soe, an independent political analyst based in Thailand.

After Myanmar’s military deposed an elected civilian government in a 2021 coup and sparked a civil war, ASEAN barred the ruling generals from its meetings for their failure to comply with the ASEAN peace plan.

But a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 that struck Myanmar on March 28, killing more than 3,600, provided Min Aung Hlaing with a rare diplomatic opening, including a visit to Bangkok for key meetings in early April.

Two diplomatic sources in Thailand told Reuters that Min Aung Hlaing would return within a fortnight to meet Anwar in Bangkok.

One of the sources added that they would be joined by Thailand’s former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whom Anwar has appointed a personal adviser in his role as ASEAN chair.

Malaysia’s embassy in Thailand and the Thai foreign ministry did not respond to queries about the Myanmar-related meetings in Bangkok, where Anwar is also set to hold talks with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter.

Utmost caution

A number of anti-regime groups, including the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) and the Karen National Union, urged “utmost caution” regarding the meeting, which they said was being held under the pretext of delivering humanitarian aid.

“The military junta led by Min Aung Hlaing is a perpetrator of clear violations of the ASEAN five-point consensus,” they said in a statement on Wednesday, referring to the aforementioned ASEAN peace plan for Myanmar.

“Any unilateral engagement with the military leader – widely regarded as a terrorist – must be approached with the utmost caution.”

Prior to his visit, Anwar said he would seek to extend a ceasefire called since the quake, Myanmar’s deadliest natural disaster in decades that struck during a civil war which has displaced more than 3.5 million people and shattered the economy.

The military declared a 20-day ceasefire on April 2, following similar moves by resistance groups and the NUG, but has kept up airstrikes since, the U.N. and other groups have said.

“ASEAN … they’ve boycotted the participation of the junta since 2021,” added the analyst, Sai Kyi Zin Soe. “So now this meeting could really undermine that position.”

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

REUTERS

At least 22 political prisoners among the 4,893 released in regime amnesty

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A bus carrying prisoners released from Insein Prison exits the main gate, where family members await the release of their loved ones, on April 17. (Credit: DVB)

The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) reported that at least 22 political prisoners were among the 4,893 total released on Thursday as part of a regime amnesty to commemorate the Myanmar New Year.

“I had served a year and a half and was released just as my sentence was nearing its completion,” a prisoner, among the estimated 1,000 freed from Insein Prison in Yangon, told DVB on condition of anonymity. 

PPNM shared on social media that political prisoners were released from prisons in Bago, Tanintharyi, Mandalay and Magway regions. It added that further updates would follow.

“Most of the released inmates had nearly completed their sentences. The majority were convicted of theft and burglary,” a family member of a political prisoner freed from prison in Pyay Prison in Bago Region told DVB.

Pyay Prison released 70, including nine political prisoners, while Paungde Prison released 31, including two political prisoners, the family member added. Paungde and Pyay townships are located 142-183 miles (228-294 km) north of the region’s capital Bago.

All 4,893 prisoners were released in a regime amnesty on the condition that if they reoffend they will return to prison to serve the remainder of their original sentence and any additional sentence imposed by the court.

The regime claimed that some sentences had been reduced by one-sixth, except in convictions of drugs, rape, murder, terrorism, corruption, weapons offences, or “natural disaster management,” which is when a citizen violates government orders related to a natural disaster.

Jailed Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year prison sentence after she was convicted of multiple offences, including corruption and violating the natural disaster management law.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that there are 22,197 political prisoners in Myanmar. A total of 29,030 have been arrested since the 2021 military coup.

Nearly 5,000 prisoners released in regime amnesty for Myanmar New Year

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Families waiting in front of the Insein Prison in Yangon on April 17. (Credit: DVB)

The regime announced that it pardoned 4,893 prisoners on Thursday to commemorate the Myanmar New Year.

It added that a total of 13 foreign nationals were released and deported but their nationalities weren’t disclosed.

All the 4,893 prisoners were released in the amnesty on the condition that if they reoffend they will return to prison to serve the remainder of their original sentence and any additional sentence imposed by the court.

The regime claimed that some sentences had been reduced by one-sixth, except in convictions of drugs, rape, murder, terrorism, corruption, weapons offences, or “natural disaster management,” which is when a citizen violates government orders related to a natural disaster.

The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) reported that very few political prisoners were among those released in the amnesty.

Jailed Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year prison sentence after she was convicted of multiple offences, including corruption and violating the natural disaster management law.

The regime has released no information about the 79-year-old’s health or well-being following the March 28 earthquake that killed at least 4,410 people, according to DVB data.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that there are 22,197 political prisoners in Myanmar. A total of 29,030 have been arrested since the 2021 military coup.

At least 14 civilians killed by airstrikes in Sagaing Region since ceasefire

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Two civilians were killed by airstrikes on Kanni Township, Sagaing Region, on April 14. (Credit: DVB)

Residents of Kanni, Tanze, Tabayin, Mingin, and Kawlin townships in Sagaing Region told DVB that at least 14 civilians were killed and nearly 50 were injured by airstrikes on 12 villages in Sagaing – despite a ceasefire between the regime and People’s Defense Forces (PDF) – April 11-14. 

The five towns are located 40-153 miles (64-243 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa. All are either under partial or full control of the National Unity Government (NUG). It announced a halt to PDF offensives against the regime from March 30-April 13, which was extended until April 20. But the ceasefire allows the PDF to retaliate in “self-defense” against regime attacks.

A Kanni Township resident told DVB that two civilians were killed by airstrikes on seven villages on April 14. It is partly controlled by the NUG and the regime. “Two fighter jets dropped four bombs over the monastery,” a Tanze Township resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity after an airstrike killed one woman in Lema village on April 13. 

A member of All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the number killed by the airstrike in Tanze may rise. Three civilians were killed and 20 were injured by an airstrike on a monastery in Kyakhat village of Tabayin Township on April 12.  

Tabayin was seized by resistance forces on August 18, 2024. The PDF told DVB there was no fighting between it and regime forces when the airstrikes occurred. 

“Three people were killed instantly,” a Mingin Township resident told DVB after an airstrike on Zinkale village April 11. Six homes there were destroyed. A spokesperson from the Mingin People’s Administration Team under the NUG told DVB that a drone was spotted flying over the village before the airstrike occurred. 

Three civilians were killed and at least two homes were destroyed by airstrikes on two villages in Kawlin Township on April 11. The PDF seized control of Kawlin on Nov. 6, 2024 but it was recaptured by regime forces during a counteroffensive Feb. 4-11, 2024. The NUG claims to partly control the town. 

At least 151 civilians have been killed and 269 have been injured in air and artillery attacks since March 28. Since the regime announced its ceasefire on April 2, it has carried out 216 attacks, according to DVB data.

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