Page 2 - Myanmar

India launches ops to help typhoon-hit Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam; sends aid

India on Sunday sent urgent supplies to Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar under an operation christened "Sadbhav" to assist them in dealing with the devastating impact of a major typhoon. Various parts of Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam have been reeling under massive floods after Typhoon Yagi, said to be Asia's most powerful storm this year, hit the three countries. The typhoon that originated from the South China Sea made landfall over a week ago, reportedly killing more than 170 people in Vietnam and around 40 in Myanmar. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said "Operation Sadbhav" is part of India's broader effort to contribute to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) within the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, in line with its "Act East Policy". India has sent humanitarian relief assistance worth USD 10,00,000 to Vietnam and USD 1,00,000 to Laos, it said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said 10 tonnes of aid, including dry ration, clothing and .

Death toll in Myanmar from Typhoon Yagi reaches 74; dozens missing

The death toll in Myanmar from flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi has reached at least 74, with 89 people missing, Myanmar's state television said Saturday. Difficulties in compiling information have raised fears that the number of casualties may be higher. The new official death toll announced by the country's military government was more than double the 33 reported on Friday. Typhoon Yagi earlier hit Vietnam, northern Thailand and Laos, killing more than 260 people and causing major damage. The new totals were announced after state media reported that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council, said that Myanmar was requesting relief aid from foreign countries. Nearly 240,000 people have been displaced, according to the reports. There were already 3.4 million displaced people in Myanmar at the beginning of September, according to the UN refugee agency, mostly because of war and unrest in recent years. In Myanmar, low-lying areas in the ..

B'desh ramps up border vigilance with Myanmar as thousands of Rohingya flee

The new arrivals add to more than one million Rohingya refugees already living in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar district after they fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017

Two Mizoram teens held by Myanmar militants return with shaved head, burns

With their heads tonsured and cigarette burns on bodies, two teenage boys returned home in Mizoram after being held captive by militants in adjoining Myanmar's Chin state for nearly a week, an Assam Rifles officer said on Sunday. The two boys, aged 16 and 15, were allegedly abducted by the Hualngoram unit of Chin Defence Force (CDF), one of several militant organisations fighting the military junta in Myanmar, on September 1 from Rih Dil Lake, a tourist spot in the neighbouring country near the Indian border, the officer said. "A group of five boys from Zokhawthar village in Mizoram had gone to Rih Dil Lake on motorcycles on September 1. On reaching there, they were stopped by cadres of CDF, who thrashed them because of a previous scuffle they had with some other boys from Zokhawthar," she said. Three of the five boys managed to escape and return to India while the two were held hostage by the CDF, the Assam Rifles officer said. "The two boys were kept in Rih Dil area for two days

US calls on Big Tech to help evade online censors in Russia, Iran

OTF's pitch to tech companies at the meeting was to help offer discounted or subsidized server bandwidth

Thousands of Rohingya flee to Bangladesh from violence in Myanmar: Official

Bangladesh is already over-burdened and unable to accommodate any more Rohingya," he told Reuters on Wednesday

Proposed UN resolution on Myanmar condemns military attacks on civilians

Britain circulated a wide-ranging United Nations resolution on Myanmar urging renewed peace efforts, condemning attacks on civilians especially by the Myanmar military and calling for a halt to illicit arms transfers. The draft resolution obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press expresses alarm at the increased violence across Myanmar, which is engulfed in civil war between the military-led regime and resistance forces. It calls for safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access at scale," expressing grave concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation and restrictions on humanitarian access in the country that led to rising food insecurity and hunger. The proposed resolution warns that the current situation has the potential to further exacerbate discrimination, ethnically motivated violence, violations of international humanitarian law, human rights abuses, and conflict-related sexual violence. Myanmar's military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1

Why is China set to hold live-fire military drills along Myanmar border?

In response to growing security concerns, China had held two live-fire drills in April along its border with Myanmar

China conducting military patrols near Myanmar border as civil war rages

China's military is carrying out armed patrols near the Myanmar border this week, where the government is concerned about potential fallout from fierce fighting in a civil war on the other side. Troops were deployed to Yunnan province in southwestern China on Monday to test their ability to maintain security in border areas, the military's Southern Theater Command said. An alliance of ethnic militias has dealt a series of setbacks to Myanmar's military in the country's northeast, which is near China. Five people were injured on the Chinese side in January by a stray artillery shell. Live-fire drills will be held from Tuesday to Thursday in four locations including two in Ruili city, the Yunnan government said. The units will carry out armed patrols and joint air-ground patrols to test their ability to mobilize quickly, block and control and strike together, the southern command said in a statement. The military previously held live-fire drills near the Myanmar border in ...

UN rights chief raises alarm about trapped Rohingya civilians in Myanmar

The UN's human rights chief joined a chorus of concern on Friday for members of Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority after many were reported killed in recent fighting between the military government and the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic rebel group. According to a statement from the Geneva office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Trk, he expressed grave alarm and raised profound concerns about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine State where hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed while trying to flee the fighting. It said his agency had documented that both the military and the Arakan Army, which now controls most of the townships in Rakhine, have committed serious human rights violations and abuses against the Rohingya, including extrajudicial killings, some involving beheadings, abductions, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages using drones and artillery, and arson attacks. The

What peace in Bangladesh, Myanmar means for security in India's Northeast

Together with the escalation in Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu, the deteriorating security architecture in Myanmar and Bangladesh will test the Indian government in new and complex ways

Myanmar releases Japanese exec arrested for selling rice above set prices

A Japanese business executive who was detained in Myanmar for more than a month has been released after being convicted of violating rice pricing rules, officials said Tuesday. Hiroshi Kasamatsu, a director of the Myanmar supermarket Aeon Orange, was in custody in Myanmar since his June 30 arrest for selling rice at prices above the official regulations. Japan's Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday that the Japanese national was convicted of violating law related to daily necessities and service. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 500,000 kyat (about USD 150). Kasamatsu was freed Monday afternoon, said Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the Myanmar's ruling military council. The Japanese Foreign Ministry said it was unclear if Kasamatsu would stay in Myanmar or return to Japan. He was released from custody and is in good health, it said, but declined to give further details. Rice is vital in Myanmar, a country struggling to stabilize its economy as civil war disrup

Amid maritime disputes, Myanmar crisis, Asean meetings joined by US, China

Top diplomats from Southeast Asia convened Saturday in the Laotian capital with their powerful dialogue partners in the last of the three-day regional talks that have grappled with tensions over territorial claims in the South China Sea, escalating fighting in Myanmar, and regional rivalry. Meetings on Saturday will bring together in the same room allies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations including the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India and Australia to bolster their relationships and discuss key security issues and other regional affairs. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Saturday in Vientiane to meet with the ASEAN foreign ministers. He is also expected to meet on the sidelines with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, as both countries are looking to expand their influence in the region. Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith opened the first meeting of the day with China, Japan and South Korea by saying he hopes the cooperation framework, called ..

NSA Doval visits Myanmar, expresses concerns over ongoing violence

NSA Ajit Doval met his Myanmarese counterpart Admiral Moe Aung and is understood to have conveyed New Delhi's concerns over the impact of violence and instability in Myanmar on its border with India. Doval is in Myanmarese capital Naypyidaw to attend a meeting of security chiefs of member nations of BIMSTEC grouping, according to the Indian embassy in Yangon. Myanmar has been witnessing wide-spread violent protests demanding restoration of democracy since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021. Several parts of Myanmar have been witnessing intense fighting between the military junta and resistance forces. The resistance forces have already captured several towns. "NSA Shri Ajit Doval is leading the Indian delegation at the 4th Annual Meeting of #BIMSTEC Security Chiefs being held in Naypyitaw today. He met with the Myanmar NSA Admiral Moe Aung yesterday, and BIMSTEC Security Chiefs called on Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing," the Indian embassy said in

Myanmar violence tops discussion as Southeast Asian diplomats meet in Laos

Southeast Asian foreign ministers and top diplomats from key partners including the United States and China were gathering in the Laotian capital on Thursday for the start of three days of talks expected to focus on the increasingly violent civil war in Myanmar, tensions in the South China Sea and other regional issues. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are expected to hold one-on-one talks on the sidelines of the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Vientiane, which come as both Beijing and Washington are looking to expand their influence in the region. Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith thanked ASEAN members and partners for their unwavering collective effort that has led to its past achievements and emphasized the importance of the bloc's continuous work to promote peace and stability. In light of the rapid and complex geopolitical and geoeconomic changes, we need to further enhance ASEAN centrality and unity so

Myanmar's civil war has seen rise in attacks on schools, say researchers

An intensification of fighting in Myanmar's civil war has brought a sharp increase in destructive attacks on schools, a group that monitors armed conflict in the Southeast Asian nation said in a report Saturday. Myanmar Witness said the attacks have further strained Myanmar's already fractured school system, taking away education for millions of children who have also been forced to flee their homes, miss vaccinations and suffer from inadequate nutrition. The group, a project of the United Kingdom-based Centre for Information Resilience, identified a total of 174 attacks on Myanmar schools and universities since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi three years ago. It said the count came from evidence in social media and news reports. Other groups have suggested higher numbers of attacks. The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, an advocacy group based in New York, counted over 245 reports of attacks on schools and 190 reports of ..

Biometric details of 24 Myanmar citizens collected: Manipur CM Singh

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that biometric details of 24 people from Myanmar, including 16 women, were collected in Tengnoupal district as part of an exercise to identify illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country. The state police along with Assam Rifles personnel and a team of officials collected the biometric details of these Myanmarese people residing in Govajang village on Wednesday, he said. "...a combined team of DC, Tengnoupal led by Md. Ejaj, SDO, Moreh, E-Coy 5 AR, Moreh and OC, Moreh Police Station along with joint bio-metric team of Tengnoupal conducted search of houses in Govajang Village for purpose of re-verification/re-identification of individuals residing in the village," Singh posted on Facebook. "During the exercise, 24 (Male-8, Female-16) of Myanmar origin were identified. Further, their biometric were captured by the team," he said. The state government had started the identification process earlier, but it came to a halt after violence br

Myanmar junta arrests 11 for inflating rice prices, including Japanese

In Tokyo, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that a Japanese national is being questioned by police in Myanmar's commercial capital Yangon

EAM meets Myanmar dy PM, flags concerns over impact of violence on border

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday conveyed to his Myanmarese counterpart U Than Shwe India's "deep concern" over the impact of violence and instability in Myanmar on the Indian border and sought cooperation for early return of Indians trapped in Myawaddy town. Jaishankar met Shwe, also Myanmar's deputy prime minister, in Delhi, in the first publicly acknowledged engagement in India with a senior leader of the military junta since it seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021. Shwe was transiting through New Delhi while returning to Myanmar from a foreign trip. In a post on 'X' following the meeting, Jaishankar said he pressed for "credible security" to India's ongoing projects in Myanmar and called for early return to the path of democratic transition in that country. The external affairs minister particularly pointed out about the impact of continuing violence and instability in that country on the Indian border and especially raised the issue of illegal narcotic

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 .