Regional Military Command in Lashio reportedly seized
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) announced that it had taken control of the Northeastern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Lashio, located in northern Shan State, on Thursday.
Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told BBC Burmese on July 25 that reports that the RMC in Lashio had fallen to the MNDAA were false. If confirmed, this would be the first time in Burma’s history that the military lost control of one of its 14 RMC since independence in 1948.
“The fall of Lashio would greatly compromise the regime’s ability to maintain any presence in northern Shan State or re-secure access to the Myanmar—China border in the foreseeable future,” wrote Morgan Michaels, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, in a report published this month.
“It is not fully occupied yet [by the MNDAA]. They are still conducting clearance operations. The deputy commander is okay,” a source inside the RMC in Lashio told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Maung Saungkha, the leader of the Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA) – which is fighting alongside the MNDAA in Lashio – posted on social media that only a few military positions remain to be captured.
The leader of the Northeastern RMC headquarters General Soe Hlaing, who was appointed one week ago to replace General Soe Tint, had reportedly fled Lashio together with other military families. “Now, the deputy commander is leading the fighting,” another source close to the Northeastern RMC told DVB from Lashio on Wednesday. Fighting between the MNDAA and the military began in Lashio on July 3.
Regime administrator accepts cash payment for conscription evasion
A regime-appointed administrator in Pein Inn Village of Laymyethna Township, Ayeyarwady Region, demanded five million kyat ($2,350 USD) from a conscription aged woman as a payment to avoid the draft lottery for military conscription on Sunday.
“The village administrator asked for five million kyat to substitute someone in the woman’s place. He said it’s not for his own personal gain,” a resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The administrator did not specify to residents where the money would go.
Sources close to the Laymyethna administration said that women aged 17 to 28 living in 20 villages of the township are registered for the military conscription draft lottery. The regime enforced its military conscription law on Feb. 10. The law stipulates women aged 18 to 27 must serve 2-5 years.
But regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told media there were no intentions to include women as it began conscripting men aged 18 to 35 in mid-April. Regime media reported on June 4 that the military is not preparing for women to be drafted into its upcoming batch of new conscripts.
Regime Defence Minister Tin Aung San instructed all RMC to begin to include the names of women, when household lists are compiled, for the incoming fifth batch of conscripts into the military, a source close to the military told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
“Female conscription will begin in July right after the fourth batch of male conscripts. The name lists will be compiled after the regional recruitment team has a meeting with the district and township administrators,” added the source.
News by Region
MANDALAY—A total of 31 civilians, including nine children, were killed and 59 others were injured in Mogok Township since June 25, when the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Mandalay People’s Defense Force (MPDF) launched Operation Shan-Man, which refers to the twin offensives in Mandalay and northern Shan State, on June 25.
Over 30 military personnel were detained and more than 200 weapons were seized by the TNLA. Twenty-nine homes and four monasteries were destroyed by retaliatory airstrikes. The TNLA told DVB that it seized control of Mogok on Wednesday. “We took control of the entire town,” said Lway Yay Oo, the TNLA spokesperson. Read more here.
KAREN—Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein, 69, a Karen political activist and the former vice-chairperson of the Karen National Union (KNU), passed away from cancer in Thailand on Wednesday. She worked as a teacher in Karen State before relocating to Thailand in 1995.
“We are heartbroken to lose her. She was our sister who fought for freedom and justice. She was an example of how to be a good leader for our community to share power and use it for the benefit of the people,” stated the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO). Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein was KWO general secretary from 1998-2008.
MON—At least ten villages in Ye Township have been affected by flooding since Wednesday. “People from the lowland side need to be evacuated as the water levels of the Ye River will increase soon,” said a Ye resident. Meteorologists predicted that landslides and flooding may occur in the lowland areas of Mon and Karen states, as well as Tanintharyi Region due to the heavy rainfall.
NAYPYIDAW—The regime Ministry of Labour announced on Tuesday that 200 overseas employment agencies that have failed to submit personal information of the migrant workers that it sends abroad by July 26 will face a business suspension and fines. It did not specify the duration of the business suspension nor the amount of fines it would impose.
“They are actually demanding proof that workers transfer 25 percent of their salaries,” a worker at an overseas employment agency told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The regime wants all migrant workers to send 25 percent of their salaries to families via state-run banks.
