Two People’s Defence Force members killed in Shan State
The People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Moebye town of Pekon Township, southern Shan State, announced on Wednesday that a funeral was held for two of its members killed by regime forces during fighting June 15-16. Moebye is located 100 miles (160 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 11 miles (17 km) north of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.
A frontline source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that pro-regime forces, including the Pa-O National Organization (PNO), launched a counteroffensive to retake Moebye in June. This led to at least 40,000 civilians fleeing their homes in Pekon, according to a statement from the provisional government Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) on June 16.
The Progressive Karenni People Force (PKPF) announced on June 1 that 3,808 regime troops have been killed by resistance forces in Karenni and southern Shan since the 2021 military coup. Karenni resistance forces have lost a total of 759 members killed by regime forces, which began its counteroffensive to retake control of southern Shan from the resistance in November.
Malaysia urged to stop arrests of Myanmar refugees
Fortify Rights called on Malaysia to end the use of torture inside Immigration Detention Centers and to stop arbitrary arrests and raids against undocumented migrants in a report released on Wednesday. Recent raids have resulted in the arrest and detention of refugees from Burma registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia.
“Malaysia must end these indiscriminate immigration raids, provide formal refugee status to people whose lives are in danger in their home countries, restore UNHCR’s full access to detention centers, and put in place clear safeguards so that no one fleeing persecution is tortured, arbitrarily arrested, detained or forcibly returned,” said Yap Lay Sheng. a human rights specialist at Fortify Rights.
Testimony was collected by Fortify Rights from 17 victims and eyewitnesses, primarily Rohingya and others from Burma living in Malaysia. The authorities have arrested 34,287 individuals, an average of 7,800 per month from January to May this year. This is more than triple the 2023 rate of 2,300 and nearly double the 2024 rate of 3,900. Malaysia deported 80 Burma nationals in May.
Edible oil loan scheme accused of having ‘complex procedures’
Business owners in Burma told DVB that due to “complex procedures” in the regime’s application process to disburse loans to edible oil manufacturers, only about four billion MMK ($900,000 USD) out of 50 billion MMK ($11 million USD) has been loaned since Naypyidaw announced the plan in July 2023.
“We need approvals from seven scrutiny bodies to receive a loan,” a business owner told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that the regime-controlled Myanma Agricultural Development Bank (MADB) and Myanma Economic Bank (MEB) are two of the scrutiny bodies. The regime announced that 35 edible oil manufacturers have received loans to date.
Each business owner can apply for up to 500 million MMK ($100,000 USD) in loans through the MADB, MEB and private banks at a 5.5 percent interest rate under this scheme. Regime figures show Burma consumes over one million tons of edible oil annually but produces only 300,000 tons and imports the remaining 800,000 tons.
News by Region
ARAKAN—Volunteers in Ponnagyun Township told DVB that over 200 people staying at Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps needed aid due to flooding caused by rains on Wednesday. Ponnagyun, located 21 miles (33 km) northeast of the state capital Sittwe, came under Arakan Army (AA) control in March 2024.
A source in Ponnagyun told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the floodwaters reached chest-level in some areas of the township after heavy rains. Ponnagyun is home to five IDP camps sheltering people who’ve fled their homes due to fighting in Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, and Sittwe.
CHINLAND—The Chin Brotherhood told DVB that it is allowing residents to return to their homes in towns under its control. It added that its administration is restoring water supplies and municipal services, as well as clearing landmines and other explosive remnants of war.
“Rebuilding requires starting over completely,” Salai Than Shwe, a representative of the Chin Brotherhood, told DVB. It warned residents that airstrikes are still a pervasive threat. Over 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Chinland since the 2021 coup.
KAREN—Sources told DVB that the Karen National Union (KNU) is now stationed inside seized regime outposts along the Burma-Thailand border to keep regime troops from returning. Only four outposts remain under regime control in Myawaddy District.
Myawaddy is located 81 miles (130 km) east of the state capital Hpa-An, and adjacent to Thailand’s Tak Province in KNU Brigade 6 territory. Naw Say Say Heh, the vice chair of Karen Women’s Organization (KWO), told DVB that residents feel much safer now that regime forces have left.
MAGWAY—Minbu Township residents told DVB that more than 4,000 acres of crop fields, mostly sesame fields, were flooded and destroyed by continuous rain over the past two weeks. Minbu is located 4.2 miles (6.8 km) northwest of the region’s capital Magway.
“We can’t recover anything,” a Minbu resident told DVB. Residents of Nyaungshwe Township in southern Shan State, located about 19 miles (30 km) southwest of Taunggyi, also reported rains causing floods that destroyed crop fields near Inle Lake since June 10.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,520 MMK)
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