Regime blames foreign countries for military losses
Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing accused foreign governments – without naming any – of backing anti-military coup resistance groups, which includes the People’s Defense Force (PDF) and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), during a speech in Naypyidaw on Monday.
His regime has yet to acknowledge the loss of its Northeastern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Lashio, Shan State to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) on Aug. 3. This means the military controls 13 of 14 RMC nationwide with its Western RMC in Ann Township of Arakan State under threat of capture by the Arakan Army (AA).
“Some foreign countries wish for the existence of armed conflicts and shaping the form of Myanmar as they like [by] providing money, food, medicines, arms and ammunition, technologies and logistic opportunities to armed insurgents,” said Min Aung Hlaing. But he did not specify which countries he was referring to.
Min Aung Hlaing claimed that EAOs are operating weapons factories along the Burma-China border that require equipment obtained from abroad. He added that weapons were being smuggled into the southeast from Thailand. Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun acknowledged that three senior military officers surrendered to the MNDAA on Sunday.
More calls to protect the Rohingya in northern Arakan
The Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) released a statement on Monday calling on the international community to protect Rohingya living in Maungdaw Township of northern Arakan State as fighting between the military and the AA over control of the Burma-Bangladesh border town continues.
“The civilian toll of this war is almost completely ignored by the international community, who seem too preoccupied with other conflicts. We are asking them to take action to protect the Rohingya under fire in Maungdaw [and] those suffering without aid from Buthidaung,” said Kyaw Win, the BHRN executive director.
A Maungdaw resident who fled across the border into Bangladesh to escape the fighting told BHRN that the AA have been attacking Rohingya homes with drones. The BHRN called on the AA to respect international law and to grant safe passage to the Rohingya. Buthidaung Township residents have accused the AA of burning down their homes after it took control of the town on May 18.
Brotherhood Alliance claims control of Kyaukme in northern Shan
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) claimed that it took full control of Kyaukme Township on Monday. Shwe Phee Myay News Agency reported that at least 40 Kyaukme residents have been killed since the TNLA launched its offensive against the military in the town on June 25. Homes and other buildings have been damaged during the fighting.
“It is almost a complete seizure,” a Kyaukme resident told DVB. The TNLA, along with the Mandalay People’s Defense Force (MPDF), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Danu People’s Liberation Front (DPLF), have seized control of Nawnghkio and Mongmit townships in northern Shan State, as well as Mogok Township in Mandalay Region since fighting with the military began on June 25.
News by Region
SHAN—Five civilians were killed and four others were injured by retaliatory airstrikes carried out by the military on a market in Kutkai Township, located in northern Shan State, on Monday. At least five homes and an unknown number of shops were destroyed. The TNLA seized control of Kutkai on Jan. 7.
“The shopkeepers closed their shops once they heard the sound of aircraft that afternoon,” said a Kutkai resident. The MNDAA-controlled townships of Hsenwi and Laukkai, located in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone of northern Shan, have also faced airstrikes in recent weeks.
MANDALAY—The MPDF stated that it has repatriated 15 China nationals, who were trapped during fighting in Singu Township, on Sunday. “We sent them safely to the end of our controlled area,” an MPDF spokesperson told DVB. The MPDF reported 13 civilians killed and nearly 30 injured by retaliatory airstrikes in Singu on Sunday, where it seized control on July 17.
CHINLAND—The Chin National Army (CNA/CNF) told DVB that it seized control of the military’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 269 in Thantlang Township on Monday. “There are two more sites where the military is still deployed in the town as we captured the rest. We currently control nearly the whole town,” said Salai Htet Ni, the CNA/CNF spokesperson.
The CNA/CNF and other resistance groups started attacking military outposts in Thantlang on July 22. Most of Thantlang has been destroyed by airstrikes and arson attacks carried out by the military since fighting began there in September 2021.
YANGON—Hundreds of residents protested against the fighting in northern Shan State between the military and the Brotherhood Alliance on Maha Bandula Road in front of Yangon City Hall on Tuesday. The protesters condemned the MNDAA for killing civilians during its attack on the northeastern RMC in Lashio.
The Brotherhood Alliance includes the MNDAA, TNLA, and the AA. Protesters held signs with gruesome images and denounced the People’s Defense Force (PDF). Bus drivers working for the Yangon Region Transport Committee said that over 90 buses were used to bring the protesters to City Hall.
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