Over 500 residents of Kachin State displaced by flooding
Over 500 people from five wards in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina Township have to leave their homes as the Irrawaddy River burst its banks on Monday, residents told DVB. The river reached 1,205 cm—five centimeters above the town’s danger level—according to the regime Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.
“It’s not just people living in low-lying areas, those in higher areas also have to relocate,” a Myitkyina resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The N’Mai River, a tributary of the Irrawaddy, overflowed in Chipwi Township on Friday. This caused the flooding of at least 10 shelters housing an unknown number of residents at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, and an additional five homes.
No casualties have been reported in either township. Residents are warning of landslides due to the heavy rains, winds and floods. Chipwi, located 75-128 miles (120-205 km) northeast of Myitkyina and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) headquarters of Laiza, came under KIA control on Sept. 29.
Eight ‘killed’ in Shan State fighting between ethnic armies
The Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) announced that its armed wing, the Shan State Army (SSA), killed eight members of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) during fighting near Nalai village in the Hannar village-tract of Lashio Township in northern Shan State on Sunday. The MNDAA has not shared any details about the fighting nor has it acknowledged any casualties.
A Lashio resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the SSA and the MNDAA had frequent disputes over territory and natural resources. Lashio is located 134 miles (215 km) north of the SSPP headquarters in Wanhai village of southern Shan and 117 miles (188 km) southwest of the MNDAA-controlled Laukkai Township in northern Shan’s Kokang Self-Administered Zone.
The SSPP claimed that 100 MNDAA troops and two of its battalions are deployed in the Hannar village-tract, without disclosing the exact number of its own personnel on-the-ground. Sources told DVB that the talks between the two armed groups ended without an agreement in April. The SSPP stated that there have been eight “confrontations” and 24 incidents of physical altercations with the MNDAA.
Regime staff in Naypyidaw ordered to move as schools reopen
The regime Ministry of Education ordered its staff to move out of temporary shelters set up at schools in Naypyidaw, where they’ve been staying since the March 28 earthquake, before the academic year started Monday. Regime education staff have been living in over 70 shelters at 16 schools in Zabuthiri Township, which is located 169 miles (272 km) south of the earthquake epicenter in Sagaing Region.
“They said the shelters were an eyesore,” a regime education employee told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Another staff member told DVB that the employees were relocated to a school hall as a temporary shelter until more permanent accommodation can be found. Hundreds of regime staff residential buildings were reportedly damaged during the quake, but Naypyidaw has not disclosed any further details.
Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing updated Naypyidaw’s earthquake death toll on May 29 to 3,739 people killed, 5,104 injured, and 68 still missing. A total of 506,069 people and 162,167 households were impacted in 10 states and regions, including Sagaing, Mandalay, Naypyidaw, and southern Shan State. At least 4,492, including 617 in Naypyidaw, have been killed and 11,366 have been injured, according to DVB data.
News by Region
MANDALAY—The People’s Defence Force (PDF) told DVB that a school in Thabeikkyin Township was destroyed by an airstrike on Sunday. Thabeikkyin is located 90 miles (144 km) north of Mandalay and is administered by the National Unity Government (NUG).
A PDF spokesperson told DVB that the airstrike targeted civilians as there was no fighting with regime forces. Two buildings were destroyed inside a school compound. No casualties were reported. The regime extended its temporary ceasefire on Sunday until June 30.
AYEYARWADY—Residents of eight townships, including Bogalay, Kyaiklat, Pathein, Maubin and Hinthada, told DVB that police officers and regime administrators started visiting their homes on Sunday to find out if their children are enrolled in school for this academic year.
“We have been told to go door-to-door,” a source from the region’s Education Office told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Over 40 percent of students are not enrolled this year, the source added. Regional authorities are threatening legal action against families of children not in school.
KARENNI—The PDF in Bawlakhe Township told DVB that its deputy battalion commander was killed by an artillery strike on May 22 before it seized the regime’s Yenipauk outpost. A total of 20 PDF members were injured and 14 regime troops were killed in fighting May 1-31.
Three PDF members were reportedly injured by incendiary bombs in Moebye town of Pekon Township, southern Shan State, last month. Moebye and Bawlakhe are located 10-52 miles (16-83 km) northwest and south of the state capital Loikaw, which is under regime control.
SHAN—The Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) claimed that pro-regime forces, including the Pa-O National Organization (PNO), killed four PNLA members they had detained in Hsihseng Township on Jan. 13. Hsihseng is located 31 miles (50 km) south of the state capital Taunggyi.
A PNLA spokesperson told DVB that they obtained video footage of the alleged killing of its four members by pro-regime forces from a captured PNO militia member’s phone. He accused the PNO and pro-regime forces of committing war crimes for killing prisoners of war.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,430 MMK)
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