Over 1,000 landmine casualties in Myanmar – the most globally
The Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor 2024 report released on Wednesday stated that Burma topped the global list of casualties with 1,003 civilians killed and injured from landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) planted by both the military and resistance groups in all 14 states and regions of the country.
“The Myanmar military’s widespread use of antipersonnel mines will threaten the lives and livelihoods of villagers now and for decades to come,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The junta’s planting of landmines in homes, villages, and farms appears designed to both terrorize and harm civilians.”
Human Rights Watch urged all armed groups in the country to stop using landmines. The Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor documented that a total of 5,757 people were killed by landmines and ERWs worldwide in 2023. Burma is one of only four countries actively using anti-personnel mines, along with Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
UN Security Council asked to apply more pressure on Naypyidaw
The U.N. Security Council met to discuss Burma’s crisis since the 2021 military coup behind closed doors in New York City, U.S. on Wednesday. The Permanent Representative of the U.K. to the U.N. Barbara Woodward claimed that the military carried out the highest number of airstrikes over the past three months than it has in the last three years of conflict.
“They have used more improvised explosive devices, landmines and shelling in the past year than in any year since the coup,” she said. Burma’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Kyaw Moe Tun called on the U.N. Security Council to take more action to prevent human rights violations from the military.
“We urge the U.N. member states and the international community to stop flows of arms and weapons, dual use items, jet fuel, and financial sublines to the military junta immediately,” he said, while asking the international community to reject the regime’s elections tentatively scheduled for November 2025. Burma’s envoys to the U.N. and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also briefed the meeting.
Kachin Special Region 1 now under Kachin Independence Army control
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and its allied People’s Defense Force (PDF) seized control of the rare earth mining town of Kanpaikti – the last border town in Kachin State under Naypyidaw’s control – in Waingmaw Township on Wednesday.
Pangwa, the capital of the special region, was seized by the KIA on Oct. 19. “We are still clearing the town. We arrested some military personnel,” a source from the KIA told DVB. “The military and its allied troops left the outposts but fought back while hiding inside buildings in the town.”
Kanpaikti is located 78 miles (126 km) east of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina along the China-Myanmar border in the Kachin Special Region 1. It was administered by the Kachin Border Guard Force (BGF) on behalf of the regime in Naypyidaw. The seizure of Kanpaikti brings the entire region under KIA control. Read more here.
News by Region
SHAN—The United Wa State Army (UWSA) stated that it handed over 1,000 people to Chinese authorities, who are suspected of being involved in cyber scams, in Tangyan Township on Tuesday. Tangyan is located 83 miles (134 km) southeast of Lashio, the biggest town in northern Shan State.
A total of 762 Chinese nationals were returned to China. Seventy-six Starlink terminals, 1,549 mobile phones and 82 computers were seized by the UWSA. In July, the UWSA deployed its troops “to prevent the spread of ongoing conflicts” in Tangyan. The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) told DVB that the cyber scam compounds in Tangyan operated under UWSA protection.
ARAKAN—The Arakan Army (AA) stated on Wednesday that it has transferred the seven fishing boats belonging to 20 Bangladesh fishermen to the Bangladesh Border Guard. It claimed that it arrested the fishermen and seized 15 boats for “illegal fishing” off the coast of Arakan State near the Burma-Bangladesh border on Nov. 5.
“The eight remaining fishing boats will be handed over [in the future],” a source close to AA told DVB. The AA claimed in its statement that it “sympathized” with the 20 Bangladesh fishermen who were caught illegally fishing off the coast of Arakan State.
MANDALAY—Jailed National League for Democracy (NLD) Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Thaung Tun was transferred from Obo Prison to Mandalay Hospital on Wednesday. A source at Obo Prison told DVB that he is receiving medical treatment for heart disease.
“He was returned to the prison [on the same day],” said the source. Thaung Tun, 70, was arrested on April 22, 2022. He was convicted of corruption charges and sentenced to nine years in prison. Thaung Tun also served as the National Security Advisor and chair of Myanmar Investment Commission.
NAYPYIDAW—Min Aung Hlaing claimed that at least 63 percent of Burma’s population has been surveyed in the nationwide census, which took place Oct. 1-15 but was later extended to Oct. 30. He held a meeting with officials in Naypyidaw on Tuesday to inform them that the extended census – updated to be held until the end of the year – was in order to compile voter lists for its planned elections in 2025.
“It is crucial to ensure that voter lists are error-free and accurate in the upcoming election. [It] will be conducted using the Myanmar Electronic Voting Machine system,” said Min Aung Hlaing. At least 43 people have been killed by anti-coup groups while collect data for the census.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,520 kyat)
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