Protest planned in US ahead of regime elections in Myanmar
Members of the diaspora, including Burmese-Americans, living in the U.S. told DVB that they held a “global meeting” online on Saturday to plan a large protest against the regime’s “sham elections” to be held in Washington D.C. on Nov. 22. Organizers stated that the protest aims to inform the international community about the wide opposition to the regime elections scheduled to begin on Dec. 28.
“The meeting was attended by Myanmar activists from around the world, including those inside the country. We discussed how to coordinate the demonstrations across different nations,” Ko Ko Lay, a Burmese-American living in the U.S., told DVB. Khin Thiri Nandar Soe, a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, told DVB that the protest aims to give voice to the people in Burma who have been silenced since 2021.
The regime, which seized power in Naypyidaw during the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, has invited the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to send election observers. ASEAN will discuss this request during its summit Oct. 26-28, according to Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Twenty anti-regime groups, including the National Unity Government (NUG), have rejected elections under the regime.
Fighting over control of air base in Magway Region
Frontline sources in Magway Region told DVB that an offensive led by the Arakan Army (AA) against regime forces over the control of its Natyaykan Air Defence Base, located on the road connecting Arakan State’s Ann Township and Magway Region’s Padan Township, is underway in Ngape Township. Ngape is 48 miles (77 km) west of the region’s capital Magway.
A Ngape resident told DVB that the regime forces defended the base using artillery, adding that AA-led forces had captured all nearby outposts serving as guard posts for the Natyaykan Air Defence Base since the offensive began in January. A DVB request for comment from Khaing Thukha, the AA spokesperson, went unanswered before publication.
A group in Magway calling itself the “People’s Revolution Alliance” stated on Oct. 2 that it had detained 27 regime troops that had abandoned their outposts. The AA launched its offensive in neighbouring Magway, Bago and Ayeyarwady regions in December. It has seized 14 out of Arakan’s 17 townships, as well as Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chinland since it launched its offensive in late 2023.
UN reports ‘invisible wounds’ among Myanmar youth
The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) released a report on Friday, Oct. 10, for World Mental Health Day called A Generation on Edge: Youth Safety and Well-being in Myanmar about how prolonged insecurity, economic hardship, and fear have inflicted “deep” psychological harm on Myanmar’s youth population.
“This is the all-too-familiar truth for much of Myanmar’s youth,” Kanni Wignaraja, the U.N. Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, wrote in the report. “If trauma becomes the norm with little hope for peace, the consequences on the health and well-being of an entire generation could be irreversible.”
The U.N. report estimates that nearly 2.5 million young people in Myanmar — one in seven — live in near-constant fear for their personal safety. “Young people are living in survival mode,” Kanni Wignaraja added in the report, which follows other U.N. youth-related reports after the 2021 military coup–based on the responses of over 7,000 youth from all states and regions across Myanmar. Read more
News by Region
AYEYARWADY—Residents in Yekyi, Hinthada, Lemyethna and Thabaung townships told DVB that the regime authorities have sealed over 150 homes belonging to “illegal organizations” such as the People’s Defence Force (PDF) since January. A source close to the region’s police force told DVB that the homes were vacant.
An aid worker told DVB that most of the homes belonged to National League for Democracy (NLD) party members and former government staff who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). The NLD stated that 835 civilians’ homes, including those of NLD members, have been sealed off by the regime since 2021.
MANDALAY—The People’s Administration Team (PAT) under the NUG in Singu Township stated on Sunday that it would take action against PDF members who used violence to confiscate satellite internet devices from residents on Oct. 11. Singu is located 60 miles (98 km) north of the region’s capital Mandalay.
The PAT added that 13 PDF members got physical with residents inside their homes over alleged “regulations violations.” One resident recorded an incident with the PDF at their family home and shared it to social media. Singu has been partially controlled by the PDF since July 2024.
SAGAING—Aid groups in Banmauk Township told DVB that over 5,000 residents displaced from their homes due to fighting between pro-regime forces and the PDF are in urgent need of food and shelter. Banmauk, located 235 miles (378 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa, was seized by the PDF on Sept. 20.
An aid worker told DVB that the pro-regime forces include the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA). A counteroffensive was launched against the PDF to retake Banmauk on Sept. 27. Fighting between pro-regime forces and the PDF is ongoing in the western part of the town, according to the aid worker.
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