The fight over control of Thantlang in Chinland continues

Three Chinland Defense Force (CDF) members and an unknown number of military personnel were killed during fighting in Thantlang Township, located 22 miles (35 km) west of the Chinland capital Hakha, on Friday. A CDF spokesperson claimed that the Burma Air Force has carried out nearly 70 airstrikes on Thantlang since Oct. 4. 

“Many soldiers were killed when we attacked their [military] deployments in the town on Friday. Fighting intensified for the whole day and their aircrafts helped them firing rounds,” a CDF spokesperson told DVB. Salai Htet Ni, the Chin National Army (CNA) spokesperson, said that over 150 military personnel remain left in the town.

The CNA-led Chin resistance forces launched “Tilim Operation 4’ against military targets in Thantlang on July 22. Three military outposts, as well as camps along the Thantlang-Hakha Road and Lai Villa guest house, were seized by the Chin forces. Thantlang was abandoned by residents in October 2021 when the military launched indiscriminate airstrikes and arson attacks. 

Talks on Myanmar’s crisis held in Indonesia

Diplomatic talks about Burma’s crisis, which has engulfed the country since the 2021 military coup, were held in Jakarta on Friday and Saturday. Officials from unnamed resistance groups, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia, the E.U., and the U.N., attended the talks, a senior diplomat in Indonesia told AFP.

The military regime is not expected to participate in the meeting. It is taking place ahead of the ASEAN summit that will be held in Laos, the current chair of ASEAN, from Oct. 6-11. The crisis in Burma is expected to be discussed at the summit.

Naypyidaw is expected to send its Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Aung Kyaw Moe to the ASEAN summit. It will be the first time the regime is sending a senior official to an ASEAN summit since it was barred from meetings in 2022. Malaysia will take over as ASEAN chair next year.

Naypyidaw discusses flood relief with UN officials

Hai Kyung Jun, the director of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau Office, discussed flood relief with the regime’s Minister of International Cooperation Ko Ko Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Thursday. 

Regime media reported that they discussed the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas of the country that have been impacted by floodwaters and landslides since the remnants of Typhoon Yagi arrived in Burma on Sept. 9. Heavy rains are expected to cause more flooding in the country this weekend.

At least 433 people have been killed by flooding and landslides in the past month, according to the regime. The military has reportedly prevented humanitarian aid from reaching areas impacted by floods and landslides in areas under the control of armed resistance forces.  

News by Region

AYEYARWADY—More than 140 homes in 15 townships have been sealed off by the regime since January for allegedly belonging to residents connected to the People’s Defense Force (PDF). The regime has labeled the PDF and the civilian-led National Unity Government (NUG) as ‘terrorist’ groups. 

“Most of the homes belonged to civilians,” said a source close to the regime in Ayeyarwady. Many of the home’s former owners have been either accused or jailed for violating the Counter-Terrorism Law, the Unlawful Associations Act, as well as treason and sedition. Some of the owners have fled to avoid arrest.   

ARAKAN—Five civilians were killed and at least 15 others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Taungup and Thandwe townships between Oct. 1-4. At least 13 were killed by airstrikes in Thandwe on Sept. 26. 

“A boy, two women and a man were killed instantly,” a Taungup resident from Kintaung Sanpya village told DVB. The number of civilian casualties has mounted since airstrikes have been carried out on Taungup and Thandwe, which is under the control of the Arakan Army (AA), since Oct. 1. 

BAGO—A resistance group calling itself Brave Warriors for Myanmar claimed that five military personnel were killed and four officers were injured after it launched an attack on the Southern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Taungoo on Saturday. 

“We heard four or five explosions inside the headquarters. The electricity has been cut off since,” a Taungoo resident told DVB. The group said that it had fired four rounds of rockets, damaging the security gate and parts of the RMC compound. It warned residents to stay away from military targets.

SHAN—An unknown number of Lashio residents have fled their homes for a second time as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) anticipates more attacks from the Burma Air Force.

“We have no choice but to abandon our home again as we never know when a bomb will land on our home,” a Lashio resident told DVB. Several families, including those with elderly members, have departed Lashio to towns in southern Shan and Yangon. The MNDAA stated that more than 100 civilians have been injured in airstrikes since fighting over control of the Northeast RMC in Lashio began on July 3. Lashio was seized by the MNDAA on Aug. 3

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