Myanmar Attack

Myanmar's military ramps up attacks including rapes, torture: UN expert

Myanmar's desperate military junta is ramping up attacks on villages that have fallen to opposition groups, carrying out beheadings, gang rapes and torture, with women, children and the elderly among the victims, the UN independent human rights investigator for Myanmar said in a new report. Thomas Andrews, a former US congressman from Maine, said in the report to the UN General Assembly circulated Friday that the junta has responded to military defeats and the loss of territory by using sophisticated weapons against civilians and seeking to destroy towns that it cannot control. Calling Myanmar an invisible crisis because the world's attention is focused elsewhere, he said, Escalating atrocities against the people of Myanmar are being enabled by governments that allow, or actively support, the transfer of weapons, weapons materials, and jet fuel to junta forces. Andrews didn't name the governments. But he praised Singapore for cracking down on weapons transfers that has led to a 90 p

Myanmar airstrikes indiscriminately target civilians, say rights group

Myanmar's military has consistently targeted civilians and their communities as a form of collective punishment in the country's southeast since the army seized power in early 2021, a rights group said in a report released Friday. Documented airstrikes on villages examined by researchers from the Karen Human Rights Group based in Myanmar's southeast, are emblematic of a broader assault on civilians across the war-torn nation, said James Rodehaver, the Bangkok-based chief of the Myanmar team of the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He spoke Friday in an online panel discussion accompanying the release of the new report. Military officials were not immediately available for comment on the report, but in the past has said it attacks only legitimate targets of war, accusing the resistance forces of being terrorists. Myanmar is racked by violence that began when the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and brutally suppressed ...

Myanmar's head Gen Min Aung Hlaing visits China first time since coup

The head of Myanmar's military government embarked Tuesday on an official visit to China, the embattled Southeast Asian nation's most important international ally, for several regional meetings. It is the first time Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has traveled to the neighboring country since his army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar's army suffered unprecedented battlefield defeats over the past year, especially in areas near the Chinese border. Both Myanmar's ruling generals and China's government have shown concern as pro-democracy guerrillas and armed ethnic minority groups, sometimes working hand in hand, have taken the initiative in their fight against military rule. But Beijing is now concerned about instability that threatens its strategic and business interests in Myanmar. China's government has maintained good working relations with Myanmar's ruling military, which is shunned and sanctioned by many Western nations for the .

UN envoy warns of Myanmar's escalating crisis and rampant criminal networks

The UN special envoy for Myanmar warned that the Southeast Asian nation is in crisis, with conflict escalating, criminal networks out of control and human suffering at unprecedented levels. Julie Bishop told the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee on Tuesday in her first report since being appointed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last April that Myanmar actors must move beyond the current zero-sum mentality. The army in Myanmar ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule, leading to increasing violence and a humanitarian crisis. In the past year, three powerful ethnic armed militias have gained territory, keeping the government's ruling military increasingly on the back foot in fighting that has forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee their homes. According to the U.N., 3 million people are displaced across Myanmar and some 18.6 million need ...

India extend unprecedented invite to Myanmar's anti-junta forces: Report

Speaking of the seminar, Sui Khar, vice chairman of one the ethnic rebel groups, the Chin National Front, said, "We are going to send representatives"

As ethnic armed group seized town in Myanmar, Muslim Rohingyas flee again

A powerful ethnic armed group fighting Myanmar's military government in the country's western state of Rakhine claimed Saturday to have seized a town near the border with Bangladesh, marking the latest in a series of victories for foes of the country's military government. Members of the state's Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority, targets of deadly army-directed violence in 2017, appear to have been the main victims of fighting in the town of Buthidaung, where the Arakan Army claims to have chased out forces of the military government. There are contradictory accounts of who is to blame for the reported burning of the town, compelling its Rohingya residents to flee. The competing claims could not be verified independently, with access to the internet and mobile phone services in the area mostly cut off. Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press by text message from an undisclosed location that his group had seized Buthidaung after capturing all the .

1,300 people from Myanmar flee into Thailand after clashes in border town

About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted at a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. Fighters from the Karen ethnic minority last week captured the last of the Myanmar army's outposts in and around Myawaddy, which is connected to Thailand by two bridges across the Moei River. The latest clashes were triggered in the morning when the Karen guerillas launched an attack against Myanmar troops who were hiding near the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, a major crossing point for trade with Thailand, said police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat in Thailand's Mae Sot district. He estimated about 1,300 people fled into Thailand. Thai officials reported people had started crossing since Friday following clashes in several areas of Myawaddy. The fall of Myawaddy is a major setback for the military that seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Myanmar's once-mighty

Thailand sends aid to war-torn Myanmar, critics say it will only help junta

Thailand delivered its first batch of humanitarian aid to war-torn Myanmar on Monday, in what officials hope will be a continuing effort to ease the plight of millions of people displaced by fighting. But critics charge that the aid will benefit only people in areas under the Myanmar military's control, providing it with a propaganda boost while leaving the vast majority of displaced people in contested areas without access to assistance. Myanmar is wrecked by a nationwide armed conflict that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule. The fighting has displaced millions of people and battered the economy. Thailand sent ten trucks over the border from the northern province of Tak, carrying some 4,000 packages of aid to three towns in Kayin State, also known as Karen State, where it will be distributed to approximately 20,000 displaced people. The parcel

3 Myanmar nationals among 7 held for possessing unaccounted cash in Mizoram

A total of seven people, including three Myanmar nationals, were arrested in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district for possessing unaccounted cash, Assam Rifles said in a statement. Acting on a tip-off, the seven people travelling in a pickup truck were nabbed near RDS Bungtlang Junction on Sunday. A total of Rs 2.86 lakh in Indian Rupees and Myanmarese Kyat 47 million (4.7 crore) were seized from their possession, it said. The pickup truck used for transporting the currency notes was also seized, it added.

China, Myanmar likely to be on agenda at Asean-Australia Special Summit

An increasingly assertive China and a humanitarian crisis in Myanmar are likely to be high on the agenda when Southeast Asian leaders meet in Australia for a rare summit this week. The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit that starts in Melbourne on Monday marks 50 years since Australia became the first official partner of the Asian bloc. Leaders of nine of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to attend the three-day summit, with Myanmar excluded from political representation over its failure to stem violence in that country since a military junta seized control in 2021. East Timor's leader has been invited as an official ASEAN observer and Australian Prime Anthony Albanese invited his New Zealand counterpart to Melbourne to meet regional leaders. "Australia sees ASEAN at the center of a stable, peaceful and prosperous region," Albanese said in a statement on Friday. "Strengthening our relationship ensures our shared future prosperity and security," he added. Austr

One dead, two people injured in blast at Manipur University campus

In a separate incident, the United Committee Manipur (UCM) office in Lamphel, Imphal, was set on fire

Myanmar govt activates conscription law against resistance forces

Myanmar's military government on Saturday activated for the first time a decade-old conscription law that makes young men and women subject to at least two years of military service if called up, effective immediately. The announcement of the measure on state television amounts to a major, though tacit, admission that the army is struggling to contain the nationwide armed resistance against its rule. Under the 2010 People's Military Service Law, passed under a previous military government, males between the ages of 18 and 45 and females between 18 and 35 can be drafted into the armed forces for two years, extendable to five years during national emergencies. The current ruling military council, called the State Administration Council, came to power in 2021 after ousting the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The law has been activated in the wake of the army's biggest setbacks since the countrywide conflict erupted after the takeover. A surprise offensive launched last

US imposes sanctions on Myanmar's military regime three years after coup

The US reiterated its call for the Myanmar military to change course and create space for meaningful and inclusive dialogue towards a future democratic Myanmar

Ethnic guerrilla groups agreed to an immediate cease-fire: Myanmar army

Myanmar's military has reached a cease-fire agreement with an alliance of ethnic minority guerrilla groups it has been battling in the country's northeast, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Myanmar's military government confirmed the development, as did the ethnic alliance. The agreement was brokered at talks mediated by China on Wednesday and Thursday in Kunming, a Chinese provincial capital about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the border with Myanmar, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. China hopes the relevant parties in Myanmar can conscientiously implement the agreement, exercise maximum restraint toward each other and solve the issues through dialogue and consultations, she said at a daily briefing in Beijing. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson of Myanmar's ruling military council, said in an audio note to journalists that the two sides had met in Kunming and after talks, agreed on a temporary cease-fire agreement. "We will continue discussions We w

Myanmar military, ethnic groups agreed to immediate cease-fire: China

Myanmar's military has reached a cease-fire agreement with an alliance of ethnic minority guerrilla groups it has been battling in the north, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The agreement was brokered at talks mediated by China on Wednesday and Thursday in Kunming, a Chinese provincial capital about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the border with Myanmar, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. China hopes the relevant parties in Myanmar can conscientiously implement the agreement, exercise maximum restraint toward each other and solve the issues through dialogue and consultations, she said at a daily briefing in Beijing. Myanmar has been wracked by violence that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. An alliance of three armed groups launched an offensive against the military in October and took control of Laukkaing, a key city on the border with China, last week. China is concerned about the rising violence and

Air attack in northwestern Myanmar kills 17, military denies responsibility

Airstrikes by Myanmar's military on a village under the control of the pro-democracy resistance in the country's northwest have killed at least 17 civilians, including nine children, local residents and a human rights group said Sunday. The morning aerial attacks on Kanan village in Sagaing region's Khampat town, just south of the Indian border, also wounded about 20 people, they said. Myanmar is wracked by violence that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. The country's independent online media and the BBC's Myanmar-language service reported the air attack Sunday, but the military government denied responsibility, claiming that it was false news spread by Khit Thit Media, an independent online news service sympathetic to the anti-military resistance. The report

Myanmar rebels seek to control border with India after early wins

Fighting also erupted on two new fronts this week, in the western states of Rakhine and Chin, which sent thousands of people fleeing to Mizoram

2,000 people from Myanmar cross over to India as gunfight rocks Chin state

Over 2,000 Myanmar nationals entered India through the international border in Mizoram over the last 24 hours after an intense gunfight in the neighbouring country's Chin state, an official said on Monday. James Lalrinchhana, the deputy commissioner (DC) of Champhai district which shares a border with Myanmar's Chin state, told PTI that an intense gunfight broke out between Myanmar's ruling junta-backed forces and militia group People's Defence Force (PDF) on Sunday evening. The fighting started after the PDF attacked two military bases at Khawmawi and Rihkhawdar in Chin state near the Indian border, he said, adding that the fighting continued till Monday. Over 2,000 people from Khawmawi, Rihkhawdar and the neighbouring villages in Chin crossed over to India and took shelter in Zokhawthar in Champhai district due to the gunfight, Lalrinchhana said. The Myanmar military base at Rihkhawdar was taken over by the militia in the early hours of Monday, and the base at Khawmawi was also .

Myanmar Junta airstrike: At least 133 killed, including women, children

Although there have been no additional strikes, military jets have continued to fly over the town, preventing first responders and medical professionals from reaching the attack site

Myanmar junta launches airstrike on own village: Over 100 feared dead

The anti-coup militias in Myanmar, known as the People's Defence Forces, or PDFs, are waging an armed rebellion against the military junta in various parts of the country