Regime counteroffensive underway in Sagaing Region
Three civilians were killed in an artillery attack carried out by regime forces in Salingyi Township of Sagaing Region on Sunday. The People’s Defence Force (PDF) told DVB that the regime’s Northwestern Regional Military Command (RMC) launched a counteroffensive in the town, which hosts the Wanbao copper mining project, on Oct. 18. Salingyi is located 27 miles (43 km) south of Sagaing Region capital Monywa.
A PDF member told DVB on the condition of anonymity that resistance forces ambushed the regime column and killed 10 of its troops. The PDF reported no casualties of its own from the attack. A Salingyi resident told DVB that the regime outpost at the Wanbao mining site assisted the column by firing artillery into the town.
A PDF member in Wetlet Township, 50 miles (80 km) east of Monywa, told DVB that four civilians were injured and around 3,000 residents fled their homes in Ywarthagyi village due to regime airstrikes, as well as paramotor and gyrocopter attacks, Oct. 12-16, The Union Election Commission (UEC) has not included 10 out of Sagaing’s total 37 townships, including Wetlet, in the regime scheduled elections set to begin on Dec. 28.
Seven civilians killed by airstrikes in northern Shan State
Seven civilians were killed and 20 others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in Kyaukme and Namhsan townships in northern Shan State, as well as in Mogok Township in Mandalay Region, over the weekend, residents told DVB. Kyaukme and Namhsan are located 66-68 miles (106-109 km) west and southwest of the regional capital Lashio. Mogok is located 129 miles (207 km) north of Mandalay.
“Five women and one man were killed and seven others were injured in airstrikes on Kwamhal village,” a Namhsan resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Kyaukme residents claimed that a monk was killed and one woman was injured when a monastery was hit. Kyaukme was recaptured by regime forces on Oct. 1 from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which had seized it in August 2024.
The Ta’ang Women’s Organization and the TNLA confirmed that three airstrikes hit Namhsan and Kyaukme on Oct. 18. A total of 41 civilians have been killed and 46 have been injured in 28 regime airstrikes on Mantong, Namhsan, Namtu, Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships of northern Shan and Mogok in Mandalay Region since Oct. 1, according to the TNLA. Hsipaw, Kyaukme and Nawgnkhio were retaken in a regime counteroffensive.
News by Region
KAREN—Regime media reported that 15 Chinese nationals were arrested for “illegal entry” in Myawaddy Township on Saturday. It added that the 15 had been involved in “online gambling, online fraud and other criminal activities in the Myawady-Shwe Kokko area, particularly around KK Park and Kyaukkhat zone.”
A total of 9,551 foreign nationals, who illegally entered Myanmar, have been reportedly arrested by pro-regime forces since Jan. 30. Among them, 9,337 have been deported to their respective countries, via Thailand “under legal procedures,” while 214 more are awaiting repatriation from Burma.
MANDALAY—The PDF told DVB that it is investigating one of its members who allegedly killed a civilian while firing a “warning shot” at illicit gold miners in Thabeikkyin Township on Oct. 11. Thabeikkyin, located 90 miles (144 km) north of Mandalay, came under PDF control in August 2024.
A resident told DVB that the PDF paid two million MMK ($500 USD) in compensation to the victim’s family on Oct. 15. A PDF spokesperson told DVB that an investigation is underway and described the incident as accidental. Thabeikkyin town was recaptured by regime forces on July 23, but surrounding areas are still under PDF control.
NAYPYIDAW—The regime-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) offered rehabilitation loans to earthquake survivors on Oct. 17, over six months after a 7.7 magnitude quake struck central Burma on March 28. Over 797.9 billion MMK, or $3.8 billion USD, in total losses have been documented across 10 states and regions, according to Naypyidaw.
The interest rates are three percent for rebuilding houses, five percent for small and medium-sized enterprises, or businesses, seven percent for industries, and seven percent for construction companies that rebuild state-owned buildings. The loans have a term of three to five years.
SHAN—Residents of Hsipaw Township told DVB that regime forces reopened the 170 mile (273 km) long Lashio-Hsipaw-Mandalay road on Oct. 18, one day after recapturing the town from the TNLA. Hsipaw is located 45 miles (74 km) south of the regional capital Lashio.
A truck driver told DVB on the condition of anonymity that only passenger vehicles are allowed to travel along the Lashio-Hsipaw-Mandalay road. A Hsipaw resident told DVB that the Kyinthi bridge and the Gokhteik viaduct are still under repair, which is why trucks are not yet allowed to pass.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,040 MMK)
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