Regime takes control of Demoso town in Karenni State
Regime media reported a statement from the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) on Tuesday, which confirmed that regime forces have taken control of Demoso town in Karenni State from resistance forces on Aug. 19. This follows 16 days of fighting after a regime counteroffensive was launched to retake Demoso on Aug. 4. The bodies of six resistance members have been reportedly recovered.
A Demoso resident told DVB that fighting is ongoing in the town and the residents of three nearby villages have fled their homes. Karenni resistance forces took control of Demoso Township after it launched an offensive called “Operation 1111” on Nov. 11, 2023. Demoso is located 11 miles (17 km) south of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.
The NDSC statement went on to confirm that the military suffered casualties but the exact number of dead and injured was not disclosed. It added that regime forces are conducting operations to reopen the road connecting Demoso to Loikaw. The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) announced on Aug. 10 that it was closing the eight-mile-long (13 km) Hpruso–Demoso road to the public.
Death toll in airstrikes on Mawchi reaches 33
Residents of Mawchi town and the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC), a provisional government established by resistance forces in 2023, told DVB that one civilian was killed and two others were injured by an airstrike carried out by the Burma Air Force on Hpasawng Township, Karenni State, on Wednesday. Mawchi is located 82-92 miles (131-148 km) south of Demoso and Loikaw.
“Today’s airstrike hit a house and killed a man,” a Mawchi resident told DVB. Banyar Aung, the IEC second secretary, claimed that six bombs were dropped by an Air Force jet on the town on Aug. 20. This marks the third day of bombings this week in Mawchi, which was seized by the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) in January 2024. Since Sunday, repeated attacks have killed at least 33 people and injured 10.
Mawchi residents said the attacks have forced thousands to flee their homes. They said they’re in need of urgent shelter, food, and medical aid. The amount of destruction in Mawchi is still unknown. On Aug. 17, a hospital and staff housing were destroyed. At least 29 civilians have been killed and over 60 have been injured in at least 11 airstrikes on Mawchi so far this year, according to Karenni resistance forces.
Myanmar workers to fill labour shortage in Thailand
Thailand’s Ministry of Labour announced on Friday that it has plans to recruit 42,000 migrant workers from Burma and 10,000 from Sri Lanka over the next few months to fill labour shortages caused by the departure of Cambodian workers during the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict. Thai PBS reported that Labour Minister Pongkawin Juangroongruangkit said the first group of workers from Burma is expected to arrive this week.
“It is really good for the people [of Burma] who need jobs because of the economic crisis there. But I am really sorry for the Cambodian people,” a migrant worker from Burma in Thailand told DVB on condition of anonymity. The first group of migrant workers from Sri Lanka is expected to arrive in the next two months, and the Labour Ministry is also working with the option to increase the number by 30,000.
Thailand also reportedly intends to recruit workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Nepal to fill the labour shortage gap, according to the ministry. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that over four million migrants from Burma live in Thailand and that up to 1.7 million are undocumented. The IOM highlighted that in 2023 alone, 1.3 million people from Burma crossed the border into Thailand.
News by Region
MANDALAY—Residents of Shaukpin Yoe village in Singu Township told DVB that seven civilians were killed by an airstrike carried out by the Burma Air Force on Tuesday. At least four buildings were reportedly destroyed. Singu is located 60 miles (98 km) north of the region’s capital Mandalay.
“I think the military is just randomly attacking,” a resident told DVB. Singu has been partially controlled by the National Unity Government (NUG) under its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force (PDF), since July 2024. It is among 63 townships placed under martial law by Min Aung Hlaing on July 31.
Residents living in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bagan, located in Nyaung-U Township, and the PDF told DVB that around 10,000 people living in 10 villages fled their homes after 500 regime troops launched an offensive on Aug. 11. Nyaung-U is located 111 miles (178 km) west of Mandalay.
“We have plans to avoid military operations in these areas due to their cultural heritage. But if we must engage militarily, we try to do so without causing damage,” a PDF member told DVB. In July, regime forces destroyed more than 500 homes by arson, according to Bagan residents.
SHAN—Residents in the state capital Taunggyi told DVB that 300 people protested to demand the withdrawal of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) from Kyaukme, Hsipaw and Hsenwi townships in northern Shan on Tuesday.
“I heard they got paid 10,000 Kyats per person,” a Taunggyi resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that the regime authorities also provided food. Protests against the TNLA and the MNDAA in southern Shan’s Mong Nai, Mong Pan and Kunhing towns took place on Aug. 18.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,435 MMK)
Watch: Alan Clements on his new book ‘Conversation with a Dictator’. Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok & Bluesky. Subscribe on YouTube.
