Over 200,000 people impacted by flooding nationwide
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Thursday that 200,000 people across Burma have been impacted by severe flooding caused by monsoon rains since late June. Residents in Bago, Kachin, Karen, Magway, and Sagaing regions have been displaced from their homes due to the flooding.
“This flood comes at a time when food insecurity in Myanmar is at an emergency level,” said WFP Myanmar Representative Paolo Mattei. “With more than 13 million people across the country grappling with food insecurity, the floods only exacerbate their vulnerability.”
The WFP stated that it has launched an emergency relief response to address the crisis. Satellite data from the WFP Advanced Disaster Analysis & Mapping estimates that up to Aug. 6 around 855,000 people are living in areas that have been affected by flooding nationwide.
Rohingya targeted in northern Arakan’s Maungdaw Township
Human rights groups have reported that over 200 Rohingya Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were targeted by drone and artillery attacks during fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military in Maungdaw Township, located in northern Arakan State near the Burma-Bangladesh border, on Monday.
“The area has been bombarded with heavy weapons since the AA established a presence in Pan Taw Pyin [village], which is about a mile from [Maungdaw town]. Rohingya residents are aware of which house in Pan Taw Pyin has been used [by the AA] to launch these weapons,” Hla Tun, a Maungdaw resident, told BBC Burmese.
An unknown number of Maungdaw residents were killed while attempting to escape, via the Naf River, on boats into neighboring Bangladesh. A video circulating online – and shared by human rights activists – appears to show dozens of dead Rohingya on the river’s banks. This footage could not be independently verified by DVB. Read more here.
Democracy activists commemorate ‘8888 Uprising’ anniversary
Anti-coup groups in Yangon and Mandalay staged flash mob protests to mark the 36th anniversary of the ‘8888 Uprising’ on Thursday. The Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon (AJAY), an anti-military underground group, staged a demonstration in Yangon by raising banners with slogans reading: “8888” and “We are calling on the military to join with the people to save the country and the army.”
The General Strike Coordination Body (GSCB) claimed that the military regime is collapsing and pro-democracy groups have made progress since the ‘8888 Uprising’ took place 36 years ago, on Aug. 8, 1966. Activists in Yangon also spray painted slogans mocking the military on walls in public spaces across Yangon.
Protesters in Mandalay raised banners with messages calling on the people to complete the transition from military rule to democracy, which began in 1988. The National Unity Government (NUG), the Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) issued statements to commemorate the pro-democracy movement. The E.U. and U.K. embassies in Yangon posted commemorative statements on its social media pages.
News by Region
AYEYARWADY—Over 200 homes and 18 schools have been affected by flooding in Thabaung and Lemyethna townships. The water levels of the Ngawun River have continued to increase since the end of July. “The rain has not stopped and the water level is also increasing. People in the flooded areas are in need of clean water and food,” said a Thabaung resident.
MAGWAY—A group calling itself the People’s Democratic Army claimed that it took control of all military outposts in Kaingtawma village of Myaing Township on Wednesday. Two members of the group were killed in fighting with the military. “We destroyed their outposts and are currently clearing the areas,” said its spokesperson. The group launched an attack on the outposts on Aug. 3.
SAGAING—Four civilians were killed and six others were injured by artillery shells fired by the military at Htantawgyi village in Yinmabin Township on Wednesday. “Please don’t fire artillery on villages indiscriminately. It is unacceptable,” said a family member of one of the four killed in the attack. Htantawgyi village is located along the road from Monywa to Pathein, the capital of Ayeyarwady Region.
SHAN—More than 300 relatives of military personnel who surrendered to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) when it seized control of the Northeastern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Lashio, northern Shan State, were released on Tuesday.
“The Shan State Progress Party escorted them to Mongyai,” said a Lashio resident. Both the SSPP and the military maintain a presence in Mongyai, which is located 91 km (57 miles) south of Lashio. The MNDAA claimed that over 4,000 military personnel and their family members surrendered after it took control of the RMC in Lashio on Aug. 3.
