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UN calls on Indonesia to rescue Rohingya stranded at sea; Cyber scams spread near Myanmar-China border

UN calls on Indonesia to rescue Rohingya stranded at sea

Two Rohingya refugees have reportedly died and another 11 have been taken to a hospital in Indonesia’s Aceh Province, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They are among the 150 Rohingya stranded for one week on a boat off the coast of Aceh. Indonesian police have arrested three people accused of trafficking the refugees. 

“We continue to communicate with the authorities. Our priority is the safety of the Rohingya on board,” Mitra Salima Suryono, the UNHCR spokesperson, told Reuters. Aceh police spokesperson Joko Krisdiyanto said that the boat had departed Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in the second week of October and reached the Andaman Islands before it left for Aceh. 

Nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in squalid conditions at camps in Cox’s Bazar. Many have made perilous journeys by sea to reach Indonesia and other nearby countries. The UNHCR has documented that more than 2,300 Rohingya arrived by boat to Indonesia in 2023. At least 348 of them died at sea in 2022. It called on Jakarta to rescue the stranded refugees.

Cyber scams spread near Myanmar-China border

Cyber scam operations employing 3,000 people have relocated to Mongyai and Tangyan townships of northern Shan State, following crackdowns near the Burma-China border in February. They have reportedly set up in areas under the control of pro-military groups, including the Mong Ha militia in Mongyai, which is located around 56 miles (90 km) south of Lashio in northern Shan State.

“When the scam sites were being cracked down on the Chinese border, a group moved into the territory of the Mong Ha militia territory,” a Mongyai resident told DVB. “They’ve set up operations near Man Kyu village.”

Cyber scam operations have also been established in Tangyan town, which is under regime control and is located 83 miles (134 km) southeast of Lashio. Tangyan residents told DVB that these operations were set up in 2023 after a crackdown on cyber scams in Panghsang (Pangkham), the capital of Wa State – officially known as the Wa Self-Administered Division – an autonomous zone administered by the United Wa State Army (UWSA). 

Arakan Army seizes four Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army bases

The Arakan Army (AA) stated that it has seized control of four bases and weapons belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships of northern Arakan State since Oct. 19. It claimed that armed groups, including ARSA, the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), and Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), have been abducting civilians near the Burma-Bangladesh border to hold them for ransom. 

“We have to stay alert for our safety,” a Maungdaw resident told DVB. Northern Arakan State residents said that at least 15 civilians have been killed and 10 others have been injured by ARSA attacks in the region since June. A report by the International Crisis Group states that the military has been fighting alongside Rohingya armed groups, including ARSA, against the AA since mid-March. 

Rohingya men have also been forcefully recruited into the military in northern Arakan State. Human rights groups claim that Rohingya have been targeted by the military and the AA during fighting in northern Arakan’s Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships since May. The AA has seized territory in 14 townships of Arakan since it launched its offensive against the military on Nov. 13, 2023.

DVB Data infographic on the increase in the number of towns seized by resistance forces from Aug. 10 to Oct. 21. (Credit: DVB)

News by Region

SAGAING—The National Unity Government (NUG) announced that its court sentenced Pyae Tun Naing, a deputy commander of the Shwebo District People’s Defense Force (PDF) Battalion 2, to 10 years in prison on Oct. 11. He was accused of the murder of his girlfriend in Wetlet Township on Feb. 24. 

“He was arrested in February and his trial started afterward,” Maung Maung Swe, deputy secretary of the NUG Ministry of Defense, told DVB. Many villages in Wetlet Township, which is located around 50 miles (80 km) northeast of the Sagaing Region capital Monywa, are under NUG control. The NUG has been under increasing pressure to hold its local administrators and the PDF accountable for crimes committed against civilians in areas of Sagaing under its control.

Five civilians were killed and at least ten others were injured by airstrikes conducted by the Burma Air Force on Zayatkon village of Myaung Township, which is located around 28 miles (45 km) south of Monywa, on Wednesday. Five homes were destroyed and over 20 livestock were killed.

“Two women were killed instantly when one of the bombs dropped from a fighter jet landed on a home. Three others died while they were receiving treatment the next morning,” a Myaung resident told DVB. The village is home to around 1,000 households and is situated eight miles (13 km) from Myaung town. Zayatkon villagers have fled their homes due to the airstrikes.

SHAN—Chinese authorities have restricted border trade through the Sinphyu gate in Muse, located along the Burma-China border in northern Shan State, since Tuesday. A trader told DVB that Beijing banned the transportation of electronics, household items, medicines and industrial equipment into Burma.  

“[Regime] authorities banned these products but traders negotiated with immigration officers and police officers to get permission,” a trader in Muse told DVB. “I think the military requested the Chinese side to ban the trading of these products.” The regime announced that anyone who trade prohibited goods will also be banned from obtaining border passes. 

TANINTHARYI—The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) stated that a political prisoner named Ye Aung died at Dawei Hospital on Oct. 11. He was transferred to the hospital after he suffered from a stroke in Dawei Prison on Sept. 27.

“Most of the political prisoners have been facing health problems. They have not received all the medicine their families sent to them because it has to pass directly through the prison authorities,” Maung Too, the Dawei Democracy Movement Strike Committee spokesperson, told DVB. Nearly 500 political prisoners are being held at Dawei Prison.

(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,650 kyat)

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