To mark the International Day of Action for Rivers, 14 March, several coordinated demonstrations sprung up along the channel, with locals from all over Burma uniting to demand suspension of the six dams planned for the Salween, one of the last and longest free-flowing rivers in the world.

Shan State Chief Minister Sao Aung Myat said he believes all seized lands will be returned to farmers in his region before the end of the year.

The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), an advocacy group representing the ethnic minority, has called for the immediate suspension of the Kunlong dam, which they say has led to massive uncompensated land seizures, human rights abuse and military occupation.

Over 1,000 villagers face an escalating humanitarian crisis in northern Shan state, after being forced from their homes by fighting between government forces and ethnic minority rebels since late March, according to local sources

Two locals, including a toddler, were injured by an artillery shell after clashes broke out between government forces and the Shan State Army North earlier this week

A group of farmers from Shan state issued a public call on Friday demanding that Burma's government remove sections of the Shwe gas pipeline built on their land