FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM
Thai-Burma bridge reopens after fighting in Myawaddy subsides
The No. 1 Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Myawaddy Township was re-opened on Saturday after being closed on April 21 due to fighting between the military and Karen resistance forces. Over 3,000 civilians had fled into Thailand for temporary refuge on April 19.
“Thousands of Burma nationals are crossing normally at the moment. There were many Burma nationals [now living in] Mae Sot who have returned to Burma for visa renewal,” said a Mae Sot resident.
The Karen National Army (KNA) – formerly known as the Border Guard Force (BGF) – allowed the military to raise the Burma flag at its outpost in Myawaddy Township on April 23. This outpost was seized by the Karen National Union (KNU), and its allied resistance forces, on April 11. According to sources in Myawaddy, the KNA/BGF has held control of the vital Thai-Burma border town since fighting began.
Bangladesh asked not to push back the Rohingya
Fortify Rights called on the Bangladesh government not to push back Rohingya who are fleeing from fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and military in Arakan State. It claimed that the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have beaten and forced Rohingya into Burma on at least six different occasions since February.
“Despite being acutely aware of the ongoing violence in Myanmar, Bangladesh continues to pushback Rohingya refugees at its border, and its officials are responsible for beating refugees fleeing atrocities in Myanmar,” said Amy Smith, the executive director at Fortify Rights.
The AA launched its latest offensive against the military in Arakan State and southern Chinland on Nov. 13. Bangladesh has provided asylum for 1.2 million Rohingya refugees who have fled repeated attacks from the Burma Army, including a military campaign in 2017 that led to the exodus of over 700,000 Rohingya, which was labeled genocide by the U.S. government in 2022.
Regime counterattack kills two in Shan State
The National Unity Government Ministry of Defence (MOD) stated that two People’s Defense Force (PDF) members were killed in a counterattack by the military to retake the Tha Yet Kone village base in Nawnghkio Township of Shan State on April 27.
“Our comrades have the means to defeat the [military]. We want to let you know that we are all doing our best to finish this [conflict] quickly,” said Yee Mon, the NUG Minister of Defense, on April 20.
The military base was seized by the People’s Defence Force – Mandalay (MDY-PDF) on April 15. A spokesperson of MDY-PDF stated that it fired 20 short-range ballistic missiles into the Defence Services Academy (DSA) in Pyin Oo Lwin of Mandalay Region. The NUG claimed that the military carried out 32 retaliatory airstrikes in villages near Nawnghkio.
News by Region
CHINLAND—Five civilians were killed and more than 30 were injured in an airstrike carried out on the Vawmm’Tu Cottage Hospital in Mindat Township on April 25, according to the Chinland Defence Force (CDF-Mindat).
“Doctors moved all patients to a safe place,” said a CDF-Mindat spokesperson. The hospital’s ambulances and medical equipment were destroyed by a fire. The facility is run by the local administration and also serves residents from Magway and Sagaing regions. The Burma Army set fire to the hospital on Feb. 15, 2023.
ARAKAN—The AA imposed a curfew on Friday from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. The AA claimed that new military conscripts from the Muslim community have been stealing from residents’ homes and setting fire to them. “The curfew might impact poor people like fishermen and cause difficulties for them to make a living. But at this time, civilians’ safety and security are the most important,” said a Buthidaung resident.
The AA told residents to inform its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), if they want to go outside to work during curfew hours. Fighting between the AA and the Burma Army has intensified in Buthidaung Township, as the AA seeks to seize the 15th Military Operation Command. Fighting is also underway in Ann, Thandwe, Maungdaw townships.
MANDALAY—Residents in western Madaya Township have been forced to flee to safety after the Burma Army launched an offensive on Saturday. More than 200 troops set fire to Shinhla, Hinthakon and Htan Chauk Pin villages. “We don’t know how many homes were destroyed because of the arson. [Two] military columns withdrew their forces to the town that afternoon,” said a PDF spokesperson.
MON—A group led by the regime’s chief minister for Mon State Aung Kyi Thein provided relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have been sheltering at a monastery in Dhammasa village of Kyaikmaraw Township on Saturday. He told the IDPs it was safe to return to their villages, which were destroyed by airstrikes and artillery shelling in March.
