Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State

expand all
collapse all

Individual Documents

Title: Myanmar conflict zones kept offline despite Suu Kyi digital push
Sub-title: Portions of ethnic states remain in internet blackout as criticism grows
Description: "Myanmar citizens living in some of the country's ethnic conflict zones are facing difficulties accessing the internet due to government restrictions and the low level of communications infrastructure, despite national leader Aung San Suu Kyi's push for a digital economy in the aftermath the coronavirus pandemic. "Although access to [the] internet is a human rights issue in the digital era, there are places with no internet, slow internet and imposed internet shutdown by the government, especially in the conflict zones," Athan, an activist group supporting freedom of expression in Myanmar, said in a report critical of the government that was released on Dec. 23. In 2014, the government allowed foreign mobile operators to enter the country, which significantly reduced the mobile phone charges. The number of mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants increased to 113 in 2018 from just 13 in 2013, according to the International Telecommunication Union, an international organization. A number of mobile money services, enabling people to transfer money to each other using their phones, emerged from 2016. The government stressed the importance of and opportunities for digitalizing the economy, such as utilizing technology in money transfers. A speech on Dec. 20 by Aung San Suu Kyi, who carries the title of state counselor, highlighted this policy. "COVID-19 has thrown light on the significance of the digital system and the need for digital transformation to be launched with increased momentum," she said, stressing that the government is collaborating with the private sector to build digital platforms such as for trading goods and services..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of publication: 2021-01-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar gang-rape victim wins legal battle with military
Sub-title: Three rapists were jailed for 20 years with hard labour in a case that pitted a 36-year-old mother of four against the powerful military.
Description: "Lodging a legal complaint pitted the 36-year-old mother of four against Myanmar’s most powerful institution, whose soldiers have long been accused by rights groups of using rape as a weapon of war in the country’s conflict zones. The crime was committed in June in northern Rakhine state – the site of a nearly two-year battle between the military and the Arakan Army, which is fighting for more autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population. “Many women like me have already endured the same thing,” Thein Nu – who has been given a pseudonym to protect her identity – told the AFP news agency. “If I didn’t reveal this, it could lead to many more in Rakhine [being abused].” Her victory came after an initial denial from the military, which said she made up the allegations, and she still faces the glare of widespread social stigma, including from her husband who refuses to speak to her. Watershed moment? “I am both happy and sad,” she said, still in disbelief that the military tribunal ruled in her favour. “I don’t entirely believe this verdict will stop the rape and abuse against women in conflict areas because they (the military) are unreliable people with two faces.” In a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing, the military on Saturday announced the verdict and sentence against the three rapists, trumpeting its own “transparent” investigation of the case. But observers warned it is too soon to judge whether Thein Nu’s victory will be a watershed moment for the armed forces – which ruled Myanmar outright until 2011 and still holds sway over many aspects of life in the country..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-12-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Military Arrests Three Rakhine Women for Alleged Ties to Arakan Army
Description: "Police in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu Township have opened cases against three local women under the Counterterrorism Law for allegedly funding the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic rebel group actively fighting the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw. “As the Myanmar military has filed lawsuits against them, we have opened cases. The plaintiff is the Myanmar military,” Police Captain Kyaw Zaw of the Kyaukphyu Township Police Station told The Irrawaddy. According to a statement on Tuesday from the Myanmar military’s Tatmadaw True News Information Team, Myanmar military troops arrested alleged AA supporter U Nyi Nyi Tun, a resident of Yenan Tun Village, on July 18. After the military troops interrogated him, they then arrested three women from the same village on July 22. In its statement on Tuesday, the military claimed that troops seized a camouflaged uniform without a badge and two police uniforms with insignias and badges from the house of one of the women, Daw Khin Myo Swe. The military has accused her of soliciting support for the AA in the township. The military accused two other women, Daw Hla Than Khin and Daw Pyar Ma, of collecting “protection money” and food for the AA from local residents. “We have said time and again that we will take actions under the Counterterrorism Law,” military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy. In March, the Myanmar government and the military designated the AA as a terrorist organization under the Counterterrorism Law and an “unlawful association” under section 15 (2) of the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act. The three women face charges under Section 50 (j) of the Counterterrorism Law, which prohibits “financing terrorism”, as well as Section 52 (a), which prohibits activities that “knowingly involve a terrorist group.” They face up to seven years in prison if convicted..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2020-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Woman shot in back while fleeing fighting in Rakhine
Sub-title: The 44-year-old appears to be in stable condition at the Mrauk U hospital
Description: "A mother of four was shot in the back while fleeing fighting near her home in northern Rakhine state on Monday. Ma Tin Kyi, 44, is currently being treated at Mrauk U hospital. She was shot as she fled fighting in Pha Pyo, an ethnically Chin village in Rakhine's Minbya township that was hit by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) on July 20. “She heard gunshots and fled her house but was shot in the back when she went outside,” Shwe Kyaw Tin, the victim’s brother-in-law, told Myanmar Now. “Bullets hit every house in the village but no one was hurt except my sister-in-law,” he added. “Everyone else hid.” Ma Tin Kyi is the mother of three teenagers and one 20-year-old. She was first taken to Minbya hospital then later transferred to Mrauk U, where she is currently being treated. Relatives told Myanmar Now she is conscious and responsive but that the bullet is still lodged inside of her. A military convoy traveling through Minbya to Kan Ni village via the Yangon-Sittwe highway was ambushed by AA troops about six miles from Pha Pyo that night, according to a statement released by the military on Tuesday. Battalions arrived to support the convoy, the military said, and several Tatmadaw soldiers were injured in the ensuing clash. Minbya township MP Hla Thein Aung told Myanmar Now shots had been fired from the nearby Kyein Taung hill, and that fighting near Pha Pyo is still ongoing. “They are still firing artillery shells,” he said Tuesday. Most of the more than 400 families in Pha Pyo, including Ma Tin Kyi's, are ethnically Chin. They have largely chosen to remain in the village for now, but they told Myanmar Now they are worried for their safety. The AA has been fighting the Myanmar military for greater autonomy in Rakhine state since at least 2018. The military and central government have labelled the AA as terrorists. On April 20, a WHO driver carrying Covid-19 swab samples to testing sites was killed in Minbya when his vehicle caught in fighting. On July 16 the Tatmadaw announced a new “anti-terrorism” operation against AA insurgents in nearby Rathedaung township. Two days later - after about a month of relative quiet - fighting in Minbya resumed. An alliance of ethnic armed groups including the AA said in a July 21 statement that labeling the AA an “unlawful, terrorist” organisation only hinders the stalled peace process between the military and the several ethnic groups fighting for autonomy..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-07-22
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Arakan Army Collects Taxes, Polices Streets in Parts of Myanmar’s War-Torn Rakhine State
Description: "The rebel Arakan Army has set up civil administrations in parts of western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, collecting taxes and arresting illegal drug users — making good on a pledge to provide governance to underpin the ethnic Rakhine autonomy the armed group has been fighting for. The predominantly Buddhist ethnic army has been at war with Myanmar forces in northern Rakhine state and in Paletwa township of neighboring Chin state for 19 months. It is the newest of many conflicts the national army has been waging with ethnic armies since the former Burma became independent from Britain in 1948. The AA set up shop in 2009 in Laiza, northern Myanmar’s Kachin state, and five years later declared its long-term intention of returning to its Rakhine homeland and establishing its own government in the state. In December 2019, AA leaders announced the formation of a Rakhine People’s Authority to levy taxes on businesses to fund its operations and that of its political wing, the United League of Arakan, as well as administer areas under its control in Rakhine state. The AA is estimated to have 9,000 fighters. At the time, AA spokesman Khine Thukha told RFA that the formation of the authority was legitimate because it would initiate a new form of government in a bid to reestablish the historic Arakan nation that existed centuries earlier. “This body has an obvious revenue-generation function, but its creation is probably more important as a demonstration of the group’s de facto authority and territorial control and assertion of its legitimacy,” said a report on armed conflict and politics in Rakhine state issued in June by the International Crisis Group. “Armed groups in other major conflicts in Myanmar over the decades have taken similar steps,” the report said. Branded an illegal organization and terrorist group by the Myanmar government in March, the AA demanded on May 29 that all government administrative offices and the military immediately leave northern Rakhine state..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-07-20
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar: Indiscriminate airstrikes kill civilians as Rakhine conflict worsens
Description: "Amnesty International has collected new evidence showing that indiscriminate airstrikes by the Myanmar military have killed civilians, including children, amid worsening armed conflict in the country’s Rakhine and Chin States. These attacks and other serious human rights violations by the Myanmar military, also known as the Tatmadaw, are taking place in townships where internet has been cut off for more than a year. Residents have been in the dark over the threat from COVID-19 and deprived of information about humanitarian assistance. Rakhine State has been largely spared a major COVID-19 outbreak, although cases were on the rise in June. “While Myanmar authorities were urging people to stay at home to help stop COVID-19, in Rakhine and Chin states its military was burning down homes and killing civilians in indiscriminate attacks that amount to war crimes,” said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director. “Despite mounting international pressure on the military’s operations in the area, including at the International Court of Justice, the shocking testimonies we have collected show just how deep impunity continues to run within Myanmar military ranks.” In May and June 2020, Amnesty International remotely interviewed more than two dozen ethnic Rakhine and Chin people affected by military operations, including airstrikes and shelling; analyzed fresh satellite imagery of burned down villages; and verified video footage showing violations carried out by the Myanmar military..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-07-08
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar air raids 'that killed children amount to war crimes'
Sub-title: Amnesty says Myanmar military carried out 'indiscriminate' air strikes in Rakhine, calls for war crimes investigation.
Description: "Myanmar's military has killed civilians, including children, in indiscriminate air attacks amid worsening conflict in the country's western Rakhine and Chin states, a prominent rights group has said, urging the United Nations Security Council to launch a war crimes investigation. In a new report on Wednesday, Amnesty International said it collected new evidence showing Myanmar's military - also known as the Tatmadaw - bombed several villages in Chin state in March and April, killing more than a dozen people. One witness who was interviewed remotely told the group that an air raid in Paletwa Township on March 14 and 15 killed his uncle, his brother and his brother's 16-year-old friend. Two people from another family in the same village cluster said nine people, including a seven-year-old boy, were also killed in the bombardment. "Our family is destroyed," the boy's father told Amnesty. In another round of aerial raids in Paletwa on April 7, seven people were killed and eight wounded, the report said, citing testimony from a farmer. The indiscriminate attacks, which Amnesty said amounted to war crimes due to civilian deaths, came amid a surge in fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA), an armed group seeking greater autonomy for the Buddhist Rakhine people who make up most of the state's population. Rakhine is also home to the mostly Muslim Rohingya, and borders Chin state, whose people are mostly Christian. The conflict escalated in January last year following an AA attack on police posts and worsened in March after Myanmar's government officially labelled the group a terrorist organisation. The AA posed "a danger to law and order, peace and stability of the country and public peace," it said..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-07-08
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rakhine villagers still fleeing as second week of ‘clearance operation’ approaches
Sub-title: Evacuees are straining shelters in the state’s north, where more than 150,000 had already been displaced
Description: "Nearly two weeks after the military announced new “clearance operations” in northern Rakhine state, villagers continue to flee their homes. The operation has focused on Kyauktan village, in Rathedaung township, but has also spilled into villages in nearby Ann township. Border affairs and security minister colonel Min Than, who announced the operation, told Myanmar Now on Monday that the military had clashed with Arakan Army (AA) troops outside of Kyauktan over the weekend and into the week. The AA, an armed ethnic Rakhine group, is fighting for greater state autonomy. The government earlier this year declared them a terrorist organisation. “We can’t just let the AA occupy this area and not attack them,” he said. Htay Aung, who fled Kyauktan just after the operation was announced, on June 23, told Myanmar Now earlier this week that he can still hear the artillery fire from the town of Rathedaung, where he is now sheltering. He said the military was targeting Kyauktan and nearby Aung Thar Si village. Rathedaung MP Khin Maung Latt told Myanmar Now military troops entered the area on June 28 and 29 and that the clashes are still ongoing. “We haven’t heard gunfire today but the markets and shops are still closed,” he said on Monday. At about 7pm on June 26, artillery shelling killed two villagers in Nat Maw village, thirty miles northwest of the city of Ann..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rakhine Villagers Take Refuge in State Capital Amid New Offensive
Description: "Myanmar’s military is conducting offensives against the Arakan Army in Rakhine state’s Rathedaung township, according to villagers who have taken refuge in the state capital Sittwe as talk of a gathering army campaign drove 20,000 from their homes over the past week. Among some 300 displaced Rakhine villagers from the Mu-sae Kan area of southern Rathedaung who made it to Sittwe, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the conflict zone, were men and women who said they heard gunfire as they fled their communities and feared possible arrest and torture by government troops. They were part of a mass flight of an estimated 40,000 internal refugees that began during the last week of June when the military told the state government that it would conduct “clearance operations” to ferret out AA soldiers said to be near the Kyauktan village tract of northern Rathedaung township. Rathedaung and other townships in Rakhine have been at the center of the fighting in a 19-month-old conflict between government forces and the AA that has killed about 260 civilians and now displaced nearly 200,000 others in the state. Refugees from several villages in southern Rathedaung township said government troops were firing around settlements as they fled. “As we were on our way here, we heard gunfire coming from nearby Kanpyin village, [and] we had to hide beside the road,” a woman from the Mu-sae Kan area told RFA on Wednesday. She said her family made their way village by village to Sittwe, encountering abandoned communities on the way..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Armed forces chief allege "strong forces" behind terrorism in country
Sub-title: The remarks from the Myanmar Armed forces head was made while he was in Russia to attend the 75th anniversary of the country’s Victory Day. Myanmar armed forces maintain close links with Russian armed forces and purchases equipment from Russia.
Description: "Myanmar Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has called for international cooperation in fighting and claimed that terrorist groups exist because of the “strong forces that support them”. While he did not name forces but observers indicated that he referred to Chinese support for some insurgent groups in Myanmar. The remarks from the Myanmar Armed forces head was made while he was in Russia to attend the 75th anniversary of the country’s Victory Day. Myanmar armed forces maintain close links with Russian armed forces and purchases equipment from Russia. During the visit Gen Min Aung Hlaing held talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on how to promote ties between their countries’ armed forces, border security and counter-insurgency operations along the border. When asked by Russian state-run ZVEZDA News Agency about terrorism in Myanmar, the military chief said, “A country may be able to suppress terrorist organizations on its soil. But in cases when there are strong forces behind that terrorist organization, the country alone may not be able to handle it.” The senior general stressed the need for cooperation between partners and countries that oppose terrorism, saying that it is otherwise difficult to combat terrorist organizations. The comments made on the Russian territory were significant..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Economic Times" (India)
Date of publication: 2020-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar calls out China for arming terror groups, asks world to help
Sub-title: Myanmar suspects that China was trying to use terror groups as a bargaining chip for smooth implementation of Belt and Road Initiative projects.
Description: "Myanmar, China’s closest ally in southeast Asia, has pointed fingers at Beijing for arming insurgent groups with sophisticated weapons and sought international cooperation to suppress rebel groups. In a recent interview to Russian state-run TV channel Zvezda, Myanmar’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said terrorist organisations active in Myanmar are backed by ‘strong forces’ and sought international cooperation to suppress rebel groups. The reference to ‘strong forces’ was widely seen to be a reference to Myanmar’s neighbour in the north, China. Myanmar military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun later elaborated on the comment made by the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s armed forces. The spokesperson said the army chief was referring to Arakan Army (AA) and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), terrorist organisations active in the Rakhine State in western Myanmar that borders China. A ‘foreign country’ is behind the Arakan Army (AA), he said, citing China-made weapons that terror group used in mine attacks on the military in 2019. It is unusual for the Myanmar leadership to point fingers at China. But this isn’t the first time that Naypyitaw had alluded to the Chinese connection. When the Myanmar military busted a huge cache of weapons including surface-to-air missiles - each costing between USD 70,000 and 90,000 - from the banned Ta’ang National Liberation Army in November 2019, the military had underlined the Chinese connection to the weapons. Most of the weapons seized by the force are “Chinese weapons,” military spokesperson Major General Tun Tun Nyi had declared..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Hindustan Times " (India)
Date of publication: 2020-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Flash Update: Humanitarian Situation in Rathedaung (30 June 2020)
Description: "On 25 June, the security situation deteriorated in the Kyauk Tan area of Rathedaung Township, following an announcement of a “clearance operation” by the Myanmar Armed Forces. While instruction for the operation was revoked by the Rakhine State Government on 26 June, local sources report that incidents continued in the area at the time of reporting. According to local reports, as a result of an intensification of fighting, an increased presence of security forces both army and navy followed, with reports of shooting as well as shelling across several villages of the Kyauk Tan village tract. The scope and impact of clashes in the area are not fully known at this time, at least in part due to the limited access to the area by humanitarian workers. On 28 June, the United Nations issued a statement expressing concern over the humanitarian impact of the conflict, and called on all parties to respect International Humanitarian Law, protect civilians and infrastructure and allow for humanitarian access. Similar concerns were echoed by the diplomatic missions and the INGOs..."
Source/publisher: OCHA UNHCR via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2020-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 514.24 KB
more
Title: After ASEAN & India, Now Myanmar Accuses China Of Creating Trouble On The Border
Sub-title: Myanmar has accused a “foreign country” of arming the nation’s rebel groups, including the Arkan Army (AA). Hinting at China’s active role, Myanmar has alleged that Beijing is supplying sophisticated military weapons to create insurgency in the nation.
Description: "It is reported that Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) has stated that a “foreign country” is behind the Arkan Army, which is a declared terrorist organisation. He reasons his claim by citing an incident from 2019 where modern technologies were utilised by Arkan Army, in mine attacks on the military in Rakhine state. It was also revealed by U Min Zaw Oo, the executive director of Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security that a majority of the weapons used by Myanmar ethnic armed groups operating near the Chinese border are made in China..."
Source/publisher: "The Eur Asian Times"
Date of publication: 2020-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar alleges 'one foreign country' arming insurgent groups on its territory
Sub-title: According to a news report published in Myanmar recently, Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) has said that a foreign country is behind the Arakan Army (AA), citing modern technologies that AA has allegedly used in mine attacks on the military in Rakhine state in 2019. The AA is a declared terrorist organization in Myanmar.
Description: "India’s immediate neighbour in SE Asia Myanmar has alleged that ‘one foreign country’ is arming the Arkan Army, a rebel group, with sophisticated military technology indicating China's active role in arming insurgent groups. According to a news report published in Myanmar recently, Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) has said that a foreign country is behind the Arakan Army (AA), citing modern technologies that AA has allegedly used in mine attacks on the military in Rakhine state in 2019. The AA is a declared terrorist organization in Myanmar. China's aggressive posturing in SE Asia is facing a pushback with ASEAN states recently emphasising on UNCLOS to address disputes in the South China Sea region where China has created artificial islands and military bases. U Min Zaw Oo, executive director of Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, has said that while China has a policy of non-intervention in the affairs of other countries, most of the weapons used by the Myanmar ethnic armed groups operating near Chinese border are made in China.
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Economic Times" (India)
Date of publication: 2020-06-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Thousands flee military offensive in Rakhine’s Rathedaung
Sub-title: Thousands of villagers have fled their homes as the Tatmadaw (military) launched an offensive against the Arakan Army (AA) in five villages in Rathedaung township in Rakhine State, a local legislator said on June 28.
Description: "The Tatmadaw launched the offensive last week based on information that the five villages harboured AA fighters, said U Khin Maung Latt, MP for Rakhine in the Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House). "There is no one left in the villages now," he added. He identified the villages as Kyauk Tan, Aung Thar Si, Maung Phyu, Yeah Poat, and Kyaw Yan Thar Si. Colonel Min Than, Rakhine’s minister for Security and Border Affairs, had warned local officials that the Tatmadaw planned a “clearance operation” in Kyauk Tan and nearby areas on June 25. The government had ordered the Tatmadaw not to use the term "clearance operation," as the villagers could misunderstand it to be an all-out attack, so Colonel Min Than revoked his order on June 26. The offensive was launched days after three border police and their civilian drivers were killed in an ambush by the AA in Koetenkauk village on June 23. Another four police officers and a civilian were injured.
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-06-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Thousands in Myanmar's Rakhine state flee as army plans operations, monitors say
Description: "Thousands of villagers have fled their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after a local administrator warned dozens of village leaders that the army planned “clearance operations” against insurgents, a lawmaker and a humanitarian group said. But a government spokesman said late on Saturday (Jun 27) an evacuation order issued by border-affairs officials had been revoked. Border affairs acknowledged issuing the order through the local administrator but said it affected fewer villages. The warning to the village leaders came in a letter written on Wednesday, which was seen by Reuters and verified by a state government minister, Colonel Min Than. The letter, signed by the administrator of Rathedaung township, Aung Myint Thein, told village leaders he had been informed the operations were planned in the township's Kyauktan village and nearby areas suspected of harbouring insurgents. The letter does not specify where the order came from, but Min Than, Rakhine state’s border affairs and security minister, told Reuters it was an instruction from his border affairs ministry, one of three Myanmar government ministries controlled by the army..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2020-06-28
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: The country where hundreds of thousands of people haven't heard of Covid-19
Description: "Hundreds of thousands of people trapped near fierce fighting in Myanmar's far west may know nothing of Covid-19 thanks to a yearlong internet shutdown, according to rights groups. Last June, the Myanmar government, led by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, cut internet access to nine townships in the area due to concerns that it was being used to inflame clashes between the Myanmar military and insurgents. One township its service restored in May, but eight others, with a total population of about 800,000 people, remain in an information blackout. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say the extended shutdown is putting lives at risk, not only because it's preventing people from reporting possible human rights abuses -- but because it has cut off them off from public health campaigns about the coronavirus pandemic. "With armed conflict between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Rakhine State amid a pandemic, it's critical for civilians to get the information needed to stay safe," Linda Lakhdhir, Asia legal adviser at Human Rights Watch said in a statement..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-06-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Internet blackout in Myanmar's Rakhine enters its second year
Sub-title: Locals and campaigners appeal for an end to the blackout as coronavirus fears grip the region.
Description: "The internet shutdown in Myanmar's conflict-ridden northwest, described by rights groups as the world's longest, has entered a second year. Locals and campaigners are appealing for an end to the blackout as coronavirus fears grip the region. More: UN's Guterres asks Bangladesh to move Rohingya to refugee camps First coronavirus case found in Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camps Bangladesh quarantines hundreds of Rohingya rescued from sea The Myanmar military has been embroiled in a bloody civil war since January 2019 against the Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. The government shut down mobile data in several townships across Rakhine state and neighbouring Chin state on June 21 last year, causing panic among residents desperate for information about the unrest. On Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for an immediate end to "the world's longest government-enforced internet shutdown". "It's critical for civilians to get the information needed to stay safe" during a global pandemic, said HRW's Linda Lakhdhir. The country has so far recorded 287 coronavirus cases, including six deaths, but experts fear the low numbers are due to a lack of testing..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-06-21
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: More children getting 'killed, maimed' in Myanmar conflict
Sub-title: Violence against children increased sixfold in first three months of 2020 compared with the last three months of 2019.
Description: "The escalation in fighting between Myanmar's military and ethnic Rakhine rebels in recent months has triggered a surge in violence against children and left some villagers facing starvation. The humanitarian group, Save the Children, said in a report on Tuesday that the conflict in the far west of Myanmar has left children increasingly exposed. "The widespread use of mines and improvised explosive devices poses a specific threat to children," Duncan Harvey, Save the Children's top official in Myanmar, said in a statement. "The numbers paint a stark picture," Harvey said, pointing to the report, which verified dozens of incidents of children being killed or maimed. Between January and March this year in the central part of Rakhine State alone, 18 children were killed and 71 children were physically injured or maimed, according to the report. In comparison, there were three recorded cases of children being killed and 12 others injured between October-December 2019..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-06-23
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar: Security Personnel Complicit In Illegal Border Crossings
Description: "Security personnel are suspected of helping to transport people who recently entered northern Arakan State illegally from Bangladesh, according to presidential spokesperson U Zaw Htay. “Frankly speaking, human traffickers smuggle returnees and drugs into the Maungdaw region in cooperation with security personnel,” U Zaw Htay said during a press conference held at the Presidential Palace in Nay Pyi Taw on June 19. He added that action under Myanmar immigration law would be taken against the illegal returnees and those responsible for facilitating their return. Although a fence is built along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, complete control of border crossings is not possible, he contended, saying it is believed that the trafficking routes include difficult-to-patrol stretches such as small creeks used by locals for fishing. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Myanmar government has suspended the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of refugees living across the border in Bangladesh camps. But since the suspension, the number of illegal returnees has reached 81, according to a source from the Maungdaw deputy commissioner’s office. Among the unlawful entrants, four from Maungdaw Township and three from Buthidaung Township have tested positive for coronavirus..."
Source/publisher: "Eurasia Review"
Date of publication: 2020-06-21
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Seriously injured man among three civilians detained in Mrauk-U without explanation and denied family visits
Sub-title: The three are among hundreds detained by soldiers and police in Rakhine state since late 2018
Description: "The father of a seriously injured man who was taken from his home in Rakhine’s Mrauk-U township by Tatmadaw soldiers without explanation has said he is innocent and called for his release. Than Myint Htay, 31, was bedbound at home in Leik Sin Pyin village recovering from a stomach wound after a tractor accident last week when soldiers showed up to detain him. His father, San Tun Phyu, has been unable to see him since and the military has refused to say why they took him. “My son did nothing wrong,” he told Myanmar Now. “I just want them to release him as soon as possible.” Family members travelled to Tein Nyo village, where he was held temporarily on his way to another detention center, to plead for his release. They told soldiers his stomach wound was serious, San Tun Phyu said, but an officer said Than Myint Htay could not be released because he needed to be interrogated. Than Myint Htay is one of at least 800 people the Tatmadaw and police have detained in Rakhine since clashes started in late 2018, according to figures compiled by the Thazin Legal Aid Network. The group said this number only includes people who have appeared in court to face charges..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-06-19
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: UN: Nearly 80 million people forcibly displaced worldwide
Sub-title: Conflict, violence, persecution forces 11 million to flee in 2019, as coronavirus pandemic worsens plight of refugees.
Description: "Nearly 80 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide by the end of last year as a result of conflict, violence, persecution and human rights violations, according to the United Nations. Ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, released its annual report on displacement on Thursday, which showed an estimated 11 million more people fled their homes in 2019, almost doubling the total figure over the past More: The Syrian refugee on the UK's coronavirus front lines Nine of 10 most neglected displacement crises in Africa How Afghan refugees are helping Turkey fight coronavirus Among the overall 79.5 million displaced people globally, 26 million were refugees, 4.2 million asylum seekers and 45.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs) - those who fled to other parts of their own country, the report said. "Forced displacement is vastly more widespread and common today. The world's biggest conflicts are driving this and they must be brought to an end," Selin Unal, UNHCR Turkey spokesperson, told Al Jazeera. The UNHCR said the annual increase was a result of a "worrying new displacement" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Sahel region, war-torn Yemen and Syria - which alone accounted for a sixth of the world's displaced..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar: End World’s Longest Internet Shutdown
Sub-title: Lift Restrictions in Embattled Rakhine, Chin States
Description: "The Myanmar government should immediately lift all internet restrictions in eight townships in Rakhine and Chin States, Human Rights Watch said today. The mobile internet shutdown, which began on June 21, 2019, is affecting more than a million people living in a conflict zone. The internet shutdown, along with restrictions on access by aid agencies, has meant that people in some villages are unaware of the Covid-19 outbreak, humanitarian workers told Human Rights Watch. Local groups report that the shutdown has made it difficult to coordinate the distribution of aid to conflict-affected communities, and to communicate with their field teams to ensure staff safety. A local editor said the shutdown greatly impedes media coverage of the fighting between the Myanmar military and the ethnic Arakan Army, making it hard for villagers to get up-to-date information. “Myanmar should immediately end what is now the world’s longest government-enforced internet shutdown,” said Linda Lakhdhir, Asia legal adviser at Human Rights Watch. “With armed conflict between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Rakhine State amid a pandemic, it’s critical for civilians to get the information needed to stay safe.” The government first imposed restrictions on mobile internet communications in the townships of Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Ponnagyun, and Rathedaung in Rakhine State and Paletwa township in Chin State. The government temporarily lifted restrictions in five townships from September 2019 until February 2020, when they were reinstated. On May 2, the authorities lifted the restrictions in Maungdaw..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-06-19
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: 73 village chiefs resign in Rakhine over arrests fears
Sub-title: Seventy-three village and ward administrators have resigned in Myebon township in Rakhine State after three colleagues were arrested and charged with associating with the Arakan Army, a Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) MP said on June 17.
Description: "U Pe Than, MP for Myebon township, said the local leaders quit last week after police charged three of their colleagues under the anti-terrorism law with aiding AA fighters. "They resigned out of concern that they could be arrested too," he said. The three village administrators charged in a Myebon court in early June were identified as U Maung Zaw of Ange Thit village, U Kyaw Myint of Ywar Thit Kay village, and U Aung Than of Myauk Kyein village. They face up to seven years in prison if found guilty. Fighting between the Tatmadaw (military) and AA erupted in November 2018, when the ethnic armed group tried to establish a base in Mrauk-U township. The fighting grew throughout 2019, and the AA has killed and captured soldiers and police at remote government outposts in several attacks. Paletwa township in nearby Chin State was also the scene of intense fighting, which cut all transportation routes to the township for four months, sparking a severe food shortage. The government and United Nations’ World Food Programme finally succeeded in delivering food to Paletwa in April and early May. The fighting has forced more than 140,000 people to flee their homes in Rakhine and Chin. U Tin Myint, deputy minister of the Union Government Office, said the government has warned village administrators not to aid the AA, which it declared a terrorist group on March 23. "Police are now charging village administrators under the anti-terrorism law with supporting a terrorist group," he said. "If the police suspect us of supporting the AA, we will be arrested," a village administrator, who refused to be named for safety reasons, said on June 16. “So we are resigning." Thazin, a Rakhine-based aid group, said the government has prosecuted about 700 civilians, including village administrators, under the anti-terrorism law..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: AA releases interview of captive Tatmadaw officer
Sub-title: The Arakan Army (AA) has released an interview with a captive Tatmadaw (military) officer who claimed to have killed three Muslim men suspected of belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) during the Tatmadaw’s massive crackdown in northern Rakhine State in 2017.
Description: "ARSA launched deadly attacks on more than 30 military outposts in northern Rakhine in August 2017, sparking the crackdown and the exodus of more than 740,000 Muslims across the border to Bangladesh, where they continue to live in crowded refugee camps. International organisations accused the Tatmadaw of killing thousands of Muslims and committing mass rape and other human rights abuses during the crackdown, and Gambia, acting on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, filed a genocide lawsuit against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice last November. In the interview, the Tatmadaw officer, identified as Captain Nyi Nyi Zaw, said Tatmadaw troops shot dead three Muslim men suspected of belonging to ARSA near Zin Pai Nyar village in Maungdaw townsCapt Nyi Nyi Zaw, of the 345th Light Infantry Battalion under the 15th Military Operation Command in Buthidaung township, was among several people the AA seized aboard a passenger ferry in October 2019. AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha denied that the AA forced the officer to make the accusations.hip in September 2017. Tatmadaw spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun denied the claims and accused the AA of forcing the officer to make the confession..." “He has been held captive for months, so he will have to do as the AA tells him,” he said. “It’s untrue. We carry out all our missions according to military rules.”
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: An Avoidable War: Politics and Armed Conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Sub-title: Fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is taking a rising toll. It will hinder any effort to contain COVID-19 or resolve the Rohingya crisis. Rather than trying to defeat the Arakan Army, Naypyitaw should negotiate with ethnic Rakhine, endeavouring to convince them of electoral democracy’s benefits.
Description: "The armed conflict being waged between government forces and the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army in western Myanmar is currently the most serious by far of the country’s multiple, decades-old internal wars, with some of the most sustained and intense fighting seen in many years. After the conflict escalated significantly in early 2019, the government ordered a tough military response and on 23 March designated the Arakan Army as a terrorist organisation. These measures have exacerbated the grievances underlying the conflict and made a negotiated end to the fighting more difficult to attain. At the same time, neither side will be able to achieve their military objectives. The government needs a political strategy, now missing, to negotiate with Rakhine leaders, address their community’s grievances, and demonstrate that electoral democracy and political negotiation offer a realistic and effective path to realising their aspirations. The trajectory of the armed conflict is alarming, complicating problems in a state already traumatised by the separate crisis that resulted in the violent expulsion of more than 700,000 minority Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2016-2017. Over the last eighteen months, clashes have increased in regularity and intensity, their geographical scope has expanded and the civilian toll has grown. Despite the significant loss of life on both sides, nothing suggests that Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, is wearing down the Arakan Army or degrading its ability to operate. But nor is there reason to believe that the Arakan Army can achieve its aim of greater political autonomy on the battlefield. Civilians are paying a heavy price, caught in the crossfire or targeted as Arakan Army partisans or for harbouring fighters in their villages. Schools and medical facilities have been hit with alarming regularity, with each side usually blaming the other. It is difficult to see how general elections, which were provisionally slated for November, could be held in many parts of Rakhine State, the conflict’s locus..."
Source/publisher: "International Crisis Group (ICG)" (Belgium)
Date of publication: 2020-06-09
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Covid19 and Conflict in Myanmar: No Truce for the Rohingya
Description: "As conflict escalates in western Myanmar amid the rise of coronavirus cases in the country, there is growing concern of a deepening humanitarian crisis. As of May 26, Myanmar has recorded 206 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6 deaths. Clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), an armed group seeking greater autonomy for ethnic Rohingya people, have displaced hundred thousand people since conflicts started over a year ago. Recent spike in conflicts since late March have left 32 deaths, 71 injuries and forced more people to flee their homes. Last month, former UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Yanghee Lee accused the Myanmar army of new atrocities and called for investigation into “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in the country’s Rakhine and Chin states. Developments in the past month suggest that the situation in conflict-affected areas may further deteriorate and put vulnerable people at risk during the pandemic. On May 10, the Myanmar military announced a unilateral “ceasefire” with the objective it claimed was to help contain and prevent the spread of the global pandemic. However, the ceasefire left out Rakhine state and Paletwa township of Chin state, where clashes between the AA and the Myanmar military have been intensifying in recent weeks. Earlier in March, the Myanmar government designated the AA as a terrorist group. The Myanmar military’s decision to keep Rakhine and Chin states out of the ceasefire seems to be driven by its calculation that the pandemic provides an opportunity for it to focus on the AA, as the ceasefire allow it to keep the peace with other ethnic armed organizations in different parts of the country and even explore ways to work together in the fight against the pandemic. A recent reshuffle of the Myanmar military’s top brass, a report suggests, was primarily aimed at concentrating on the Rakhine conflict. Citing “insiders”, the report claims that “moderate” officers have been replaced in key positions with direct implications on the Rakhine conflict. The visit of Myanmar commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to Shan state and his meetings with leaders of ethnic armed groups such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) are also believed to have links with the development in Rakhine state..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of publication: 2020-05-30
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Two ARSA Fighters Killed on Myanmar-Bangladesh Border: Military
Description: " Two alleged Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) fighters died in a clash with security forces on Thursday evening on the Bangladesh border, according to Myanmar’s military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun. “Troops undertaking border security duties clashed with around 30 ARSA troops at around 4 pm on Thursday. We found two bodies and two guns with them,” said Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun. Border police on patrol engaged with alleged ARSA personnel near Mee Dike Village between border posts 34 and 35. After 30 minutes of fighting, the ARSA personnel retreated to the southeast, according to Myanmar’s military. Two ARSA fighters in uniforms were found dead along with firearms and ammunition. Some police were injured, said Myanmar’s military. Several clashes have been reported by government troops in recent years with ARSA in northern Rakhine State near the Bangladesh border. Myanmar’s military is also engaged in ongoing, heavy fighting with the Arakan Army in northern Rakhine State. Two policemen were wounded in an alleged ARSA ambush on a Border Guard Police patrol on the border in early May. According to the military, ARSA – which the government has labeled a terrorist organization – launched a series of attacks on security outposts in northern Rakhine on Aug. 25, 2017, killing 12 personnel. The attacks prompted Myanmar’s military to carry out clearance operations that have driven around 730,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh. The Gambia, a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, filed a case accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya at the International Court of Justice. The UN court in January ordered Myanmar to comply with four provisional measures as requested by The Gambia..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2020-06-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar education ministry faces hurdle in reopening schools
Sub-title: The Ministry of Education is having problems getting schools ready to reopen because some are being used as COVID-19 quarantine facilities or temporary shelters for villagers fleeing fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and Tatmadaw (military).
Description: "In Shan State, 13 basic education schools serving as quarantine centres have still not been returned to the authorities, said U Win Maung, Shan State’s education officer. He said the schools are being used to quarantine migrant workers who have returned from China or Thailand. “It’s the government’s responsibility to arrange for suitable alternative quarantine sites,” he said. “Township education officers will inform them about it on June 15. There should not be any delay.” U Sai Phoe Phyat, a state legislator for Muse, said schools in his township are being used as quarantine facilities. In Rakhine State, which has only one confirmed COVID-19 case, several schools are being used as temporary shelters for villagers displaced by fighting between the AA and Tatmadaw. Most of the 7000 displaced villagers in Kyauktaw township are staying in nine schools, said U Maung Than Sein, a Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) MP for Kyauktaw. “We can’t just tell them to move,” he said. “The authorities should find them suitable accommodation elsewhere.” On May 26, the government announced that high school classes would resume first, followed by primary and middle schools two weeks later. But there is a strong possibility that some schools in Rakhine would not be able to reopen due to the fighting. On May 13, the Union Government Office ordered the return of 6021 school buildings being used as quarantine centres or temporary refugee camps by June 15 so that the Ministry of Education could prepare them for the reopening of classes..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-06-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Army Rejects Cease-fire Proposal From Arakan Army And Allies
Description: "The Myanmar military has rejected a proposal by three ethnic armies to begin cease-fire talks in a bid to kick-start the country’s stalled peace process, instead vowing further retaliation for armed offensives and ambushes, a military spokesman said Tuesday. The Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armies — the Arakan Army (AA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) — extended the invitation to begin peace talks in a statement issued Monday. De facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s four-year-old government has long sought to end Myanmar’s multiple ethnic wars with historic peace talks. But those talks have sputtered, while only 10 of the country’s 20-some ethnic armies have signed a 2015 nationwide cease-fire pact that is seen as the foundation of peace talks. The Brotherhood Alliance trio, which has not signed the agreement, also announced Monday that it was extending a current unilateral cease-fire from June 1 to Aug. 31, and issued an appeal for both sides to protect civilians, end the civil war, and assist with coronavirus prevention activities. The announcement came three days after the AA launched a retaliatory attack on a border guard outpost in Rakhine state, killing four policemen and capturing six others. The AA also seized three family members of the officers, but later released them. The AA ambushed the outpost to strike back at government soldiers for an attack on the AA in Paletwa township of abutting Chin state, which the AA also claims as its territory. In March, the Myanmar government declared the AA, a predominantly Buddhist force that seeks greater autonomy for ethnic Rakhine people in the state, an illegal association and terrorist group — raising the stakes in a conflict that begin with AA attacks on government border posts in late 2018 and early 2019..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-06-02
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: More than 190 homes set ablaze in Rakhine village
Sub-title: Residents fled Lekkar village last April, when fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army came to town
Description: "More than 190 homes in an abandoned village in northern Rakhine state were set ablaze Saturday, locals told Myanmar Now. Villagers fled Lekkar village, in Mrauk-U township, for nearby monasteries and displaced persons camps more than a year ago, when fighting between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) intensified there. Residents in Pi Pin Yin village, about a mile and a half from Lekkar, heard gunshots and an explosion around 2pm Saturday, then saw smoke rising from the village, a local monk who requested anonymity told Myanmar Now. The monk is a native of Lekkar but is currently living in Pi Pin Yin. He said his relatives’ homes were lost in the fire. The residents of nearby villages, including Pi Pin Yin and Bu Ywat Ma Nyo, told Myanmar Now they saw Tatmadaw troops entering the village around the time the fires began and the monk in Pi Pin Yin said he saw the same troops leaving around 5pm. Nearby villagers also told the Sittwe-based Development Media Group they saw about 50 Tatmadaw soldiers enter the village just before the gunshots and fires began. The military’s commander-in-chief said in a statement released on Sunday that Tatmadaw troops entered the village Saturday afternoon while patrolling the area and were attacked by the AA. When Tatmadaw troops fired back, it said, AA soldiers began setting the homes on fire before retreating into the mountains east of the village..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: NLD supporter’s abduction followed by arrests as Rakhine’s ugly nationalist politics spread south again
Sub-title: NLD members are in hiding and Rakhine nationalists from the ANP have gone off the radar after being released on bail as rivalries turn ugly in Taungup
Description: "In 2012, 12 Muslim men were dragged off a bus and murdered by a mob while travelling through Taungup in southern Rakhine. It was the start of a bout of sectarian riots that helped plunge the state into the chaos it faces today. But despite this grim mob killing, the township has since been largely peaceful and stable compared to other parts of Rakhine. The armed conflict and hostile nationalist politics that have scarred the north - where the Arakan Army (AA) is battling the Myanmar military for greater autonomy - have mostly spared the state’s south. But events in recent weeks suggest this is changing. It started on May 5 when 53-year-old Than Shwe, who worked closely with the NLD and served his village’s Covid-19 prevention committee, was abducted in the early hours of the morning. A military statement later that afternoon claimed that he had been snatched by “knife-wielding” AA members as he slept in his home in Bu Shwe Maw village. Two days after the abduction, the Sittwe-based Development Media Group reported that several NLD members in Taungup had gone into hiding after a group of people posing as police officers tried to arrest them. “Who else will have to run?” asked former Rakhine municipal affairs minister Min Aung, who lives in Taungup and is an NLD member, in a Facebook post. “They’ve abducted U Than Shwe and he’s just a normal civilian in Bu Shwe Maw. We don’t know if he’s been killed or not.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Tatmadaw admits to beating Rakhine detainees after viral video
Sub-title: Military says it will “take action” against soldiers who beat civilians in videos that went viral on Sunday
Description: "The Myanmar military has admitted its soldiers beat a group of civilian detainees in Rakhine state after videos of the incident went viral on social media this weekend. Five Rakhine villagers, all in their early 20s, were arrested in their hometown of Ponnagyun and charged under anti-terrorism laws in late April. They’ve been in Tatmadaw and police custody since. In three separate videos that went viral on Sunday, Tatmadaw soldiers are seen repeatedly beating the blindfolded and handcuffed young men on a boat on the way to Sittwe, the state capital, on April 27. “Some members of the security forces performed unlawful interrogations against them,” the military said in a statement on Tuesday evening. In the video, a man in a Tatmadaw hat shouts “we’ll kill all of you” as he steps on the detainees’ faces and stomps on their chests. After their initial arrest, a Tatmadaw spokesperson told reporters the men were arrested on suspicion of harboring ties to the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group the government has deemed a terrorist organisation..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-05-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Imagery shows '200 buildings burned' in Myanmar's Rakhine State
Sub-title: Myanmar's military admits troops had entered Let Kar village but blamed the arson attack on Arakan Army rebels.
Description: "Satellite imagery shows that about 200 homes and other buildings were destroyed by fire in recent weeks in an ethnic Rakhine village in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said - the latest in a series of brutalities allegedly committed by soldiers against civilians of different ethnic backgrounds. "The burning of Let Kar village has all the hallmarks of Myanmar military arson on Rohingya villages in recent years," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW said in a statement on Tuesday. More: UN envoy calls for investigation into 'possible war crimes' in Myanmar Eight killed in Myanmar's troubled western state of Rakhine Myanmar military steps up attacks under cover of coronavirus "A credible and impartial investigation is urgently needed to find out what happened, punish those responsible, and provide compensation to villagers harmed." Earlier this month, Myanmar's military was also forced to acknowledge that its troops abused ethnic Rakhine prisoners, after a video of soldiers battering blindfolded detainees spread on social media. Myanmar's armed forces have been battling the Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group seeking greater autonomy for the western region, for more than a year. Clashes in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin states have escalated in recent weeks, leaving dozens dead and thousands displaced..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-05-27
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar: Five Men Beaten On Tatmadaw Boat Face Terrorism Charges
Description: "Less than two weeks after video of five men being beaten by Tatmadaw soldiers went viral online, the victims of the “unlawful interrogations” appeared before the Sittwe District Court on May 22 and were arraigned on terrorism charges, lawyer U Kyaw Nyunt Maung told DMG. The five men from Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township were among 38 people interrogated by the military on April 19. But while the other 33 were reportedly released the next day, Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, Ko Aung Myo Lin and Ko Maung Chay from Kyaukseik village; Ko Min Soe from Ponnagyun town; and Ko Kyaw Win Hein from Zeebingyi village were charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law days later, accused of having ties to the Arakan Army. Videos showing the men being repeatedly punched and kicked by soldiers aboard a Tatmadaw watercraft surfaced online on May 10, and two days later the military admitted that “some members of the security forces performed unlawful interrogations against them.” Ko Kyaw Win Hein emerged from the “interrogation” experiencing chest pain and was being provided medical treatment for the injuries he sustained at the hands of the security forces, his mother said..."
Source/publisher: "Eurasia Review"
Date of publication: 2020-05-26
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar: Imagery Shows 200 Buildings Burned
Topic: Explosive Weapons in Civilian Areas Refugees and Migrants Crisis and Conflict Religious Freedom Refugee Rights Asylum Seekers Internally Displaced People
Sub-title: Independent Inquiry Needed in Embattled Rakhine State
Topic: Explosive Weapons in Civilian Areas Refugees and Migrants Crisis and Conflict Religious Freedom Refugee Rights Asylum Seekers Internally Displaced People
Description: "Satellite imagery shows that about 200 homes and other buildings were destroyed by fire on May 16, 2020, in Myanmar’s embattled Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today. An impartial investigation is urgently needed to determine responsibility for this mass destruction of residential property in the predominantly ethnic Rakhine village of Let Kar, Mrauk-U township. Since January 2019, fighting between the Myanmar military and the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army has resulted in numerous civilian casualties and destruction of civilian property. The imagery of Let Kar bears a close resemblance to patterns of fires and widespread arson attacks by the Myanmar military on ethnic Rohingya villages in Rakhine State in 2012, 2016, and 2017, Human Rights Watch said. “The burning of Let Kar village has all the hallmarks of Myanmar military arson on Rohingya villages in recent years,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “A credible and impartial investigation is urgently needed to find out what happened, punish those responsible, and provide compensation to villagers harmed.” Satellite imagery recorded on May 16, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. shows no signs of damage in Let Kar. But at 2:12 p.m., an environmental satellite detected extensive fires burning there. The Human Rights Watch damage analysis of 200 buildings burned is most likely an underestimate as internal damage to buildings is not visible..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-05-26
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar army accused of new atrocities in attack on Rakhine village
Description: "Kyaw Thu* waited until night fell before taking his family to the bank of a river not far from their village. While millions across the world were told to remain at home to stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic, he and his neighbours were forced to flee. That night in March, he recalls, residents from Tin Ma village, in Rakhine state, clambered anxiously into boats, crossed the river, then trekked through foothills to seek refuge in the relative safety of a nearby town. No one switched on a torch or even lit a cigarette for fear of drawing the attention of Myanmar’s army. It is less than three years since the Myanmar military’s violent crackdown on Rohingya Muslim communities in Rakhine state, a campaign of violence that has since led to a genocide case in the UN’s highest court. Now the army is once again accused of committing war crimes against its own people. The tactics are familiar, but the primary targets this time are Rakhine Buddhists such as Kyaw Thu, as well as Rohingya, Mro, Daignet and Chin communities. Despite sharing a faith with Myanmar’s rulers, Rakhine Buddhists have long complained of persecution, and say the development of their state has been stifled by the central government. Repression has now, they say, escalated into violent atrocities. For more than a year, a long-simmering conflict has escalated between the military and the Arakan army, a rebel group drawn from Rakhine state’s Buddhist majority, that says it is fighting for greater autonomy..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-05-25
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar: Government fails to protect Rohingya after world court order
Description: "Ahead of the 23 May deadline for Myanmar to report on its compliance with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) order to take “provisional measures” to protect the Rohingya, Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Asia, said: “Despite the International Court’s order nothing has changed for the estimated 600,000 Rohingya who live in Rakhine State in dire conditions, including around 126,000 whom the authorities are holding indefinitely in camps.” “The Rohingya in Rakhine State are still denied their rights to nationality, freedom of movement and access to services, including healthcare. They are also caught in an escalating armed conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army. “Internet blackouts have kept the Rohingya and other minorities in Rakhine and Chin States deprived of potentially life-saving information and impeded monitoring of the humanitarian situation on the ground. This information blackout puts people at greater at risk, especially in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. “While Myanmar’s recent presidential directives ordering government personnel not to commit genocide or destroy evidence appear in line with the International Court order, the reality remains that no meaningful steps to end atrocities - including the crime of apartheid - have been taken. “An additional directive ordering officials to halt ‘hate speech’ is long overdue, but lacks sufficient guarantees that it cannot be used to further curtail freedom of expression. Without meaningful follow-up and transparency around Myanmar’s compliance with the ICJ order, these measures can only be seen as window dressing..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Conflict, Health Cooperation and COVID-19 in Myanmar
Sub-title: Conflicts have paused in much of Myanmar, opening a window for the government, military and ethnic armed groups to pursue a holistic response to the coronavirus. The parties should also work together in Rakhine State, where fighting persists, to limit the disease’s spread.
Description: "What’s new?...Amid a lull in fighting in much of the country, the Myanmar government and ethnic armed groups appear willing to put aside politics and work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The exception is Rakhine State, where conflict is escalating, putting medical workers at risk and exacerbating a potential health disaster. Why does it matter?...Conflict-affected areas of the country are highly vulnerable to COVID-19 but often outside state control. A successful response to the pandemic will require close coordination among the government, the military and ethnic armed groups, many of which have long run their own health systems. What should be done? The government, military and ethnic armed groups should work together to combat the virus through prevention, surveillance, testing and referrals. In Rakhine, they should ensure the safety of health workers, enable access to displaced populations and strengthen COVID-19 prevention messaging...Overview A major COVID-19 outbreak could have devastating consequences in a country as conflict-affected as Myanmar, where health spending is limited, governance is weak, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced by fighting, and the government cannot reach many areas held by ethnic armed groups. Reducing transmission as much as possible so that the health system can better cope will require cooperation with these groups, many of which run their own health systems. Promising discussions that have already begun between the government and various ethnic armed groups should continue in earnest to enable a holistic response in areas of the country where conflict is presently limited. The exception is Rakhine State, where fighting continues to escalate between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army, undermining prevention efforts and putting the lives of health workers at risk. Here, all sides should ensure the safety of medical personnel, allow humanitarian access to displaced and other vulnerable populations, and work to improve public adherence to mitigation measures..."
Source/publisher: "International Crisis Group (ICG)" (Belgium)
Date of publication: 2020-05-19
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar war killing India’s ‘Act East’ dream
Sub-title: Arakan Army's winning insurgency is foiling India's grand plan to counter China's strong and rising influence in Myanmar and beyond
Description: "Against the ominous question mark hanging over Myanmar’s remarkable encounter with COVID 19 – no recorded cases to date — it’s easy to view the country’s ethnic conflicts as mere off-stage business-as-usual. In western Myanmar, an area that brings India and China’s strategic interests face-to-face, that would be a serious mistake. Whatever the toll of the virus in the coming months, the sharp deterioration of the military situation in Rakhine and neighboring areas of Chin state will shape in a far more profound sense both Myanmar’s political future and India’s plans to push back against growing Chinese influence. The gravity of the crisis was plain to see on March 10 and 11 when the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, suffered its most stinging reverse to date at the hands of the Arakan Army (AA), the most aggressive of a range of ethnic forces demanding autonomy after seven decades of centralized Bamar-dominated misrule..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2020-03-20
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Coronavirus is 'emboldening' Myanmar military to carry out 'war crimes' says UN human rights expert
Description: "A leading United Nations human rights expert claims the Myanmar military is carrying out "war crimes" against ethnic minorities, emboldened by special extended powers intended to help control the spread of the coronavirus. Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, accused the military of targeting ethnic Rakhine Buddhist civilians during recent clashes with the Arakan Army (AA), a separatist militant group in the western Rakhine State. Lee told CNN that houses had been burned, a monastery was attacked and people had been arrested and tortured. "And then we find bodies that have been decapitated, these are Rakhine people," Lee said Tuesday, as she prepared to conclude her six-year tenure as special rapporteur. "I am calling the situation crimes against humanity and war crimes. These are the highest, the most heinous and gravest crimes of international law," she added. CNN has reached out to the Myanmar government regarding Lee's comments but has not yet received a response. Lee said the Myanmar military has been given a "significant" political role in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected 150 people in Myanmar, including six who died, ​according to data published by John​s Hopkins University. Key military generals and military-controlled ministries were appointed to a new coronavirus committee in March, increasing the remit of the military under its delicate power-sharing agreement with the country's civilian-led government..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar dismisses fresh war crimes allegations by UN rights envoy as 'biased'
Description: " A Myanmar government spokesperson on Friday (May 1) dismissed allegations by the departing United Nations rights envoy that the military was committing fresh war crimes in Rakhine state as "biased", blaming rebels for violations. "We found that her investigation has no balance and was biased," government spokesman Zaw Htay told a press conference on Friday. Yanghee Lee, special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said in her final statement on Wednesday the army was engaged in activities against rebels that may amount to “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Rakhine and Chin states. She said the basis for her conclusion was that the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, have ramped up attacks against civilians in recent weeks with air and artillery strikes. Dozens have died and tens of thousands been displaced in the region in recent weeks..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2020-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar military may be repeating crimes against humanity, UN rapporteur warns
Sub-title: Yanghee Lee says the army is ‘maximising suffering’ on Rohingya and other people in attacks reminiscent of the 2017 assault in Rakhine state
Description: "Myanmar’s military may once again be committing crimes against humanity in Rakhine state, the UN special rapporteur on human rights has warned, urging the international community to prevent further atrocities. In a damning statement issued on Wednesday, Yanghee Lee said the military was inflicting immense suffering on communities living in conflict-affected states, and called for increased efforts to “ensure that there is not another systemic failure like in 2017”. The military had also expanded its campaign against minorities from Rakhine to neighbouring Chin state, she said. Myanmar is already facing allegations of genocide over a brutal military crackdown that began in August 2017, and which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee over the border to Bangladesh. Earlier this year, Myanmar was instructed by the UN’s highest court to take action to prevent genocidal violence against Rohingya citizens and to report back on its progress..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: AUNG SAN SUU KYI: From alliance, mediator to enemy of ethnic nationalities
Description: "The five-point statement released by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on April 21 has infuriated and surprised many, as it is a testimony that she has transformed herself from being an alliance partner of the ethnic political parties (EPPs); mediator between the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and the Military or Tatmadaw; to an adversary of both the EPPs and EAOs. The third point statement writes: “When the whole country’s government (servants), people, voluntaries are trying utmost to prevent, control and cure coronavirus disease (COVID-19), due to the terrorist group United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) implementing destructive actions in Arakan State and Chin State, the Tatmadaw soldiers and officials, risking their lives and bravely discharging their duties, to protect the lives, homes and wealth of the people, are duly acknowledged and praised with honor.”(Unofficial translation by the writer.) Let us now look at the different phases of Suu Kyi in her relationship with the EPPs, EAOs and in general with the ethnic nationalities. It goes without saying that National League for Democracy (NLD) is identified with Suu Kyi and the party is in no way seen as an institution, as it relies overwhelmingly on the her popularity and charismatic leadership..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Shan Herald Agency for News" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-04-27
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Stop the fighting, combine forces against a common enemy - COVID-19
Description: "Op-ed by UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator on the conflict in Rakhine and Chin and elsewhere in Myanmar and need for a ceasefire amidst COVID-19 On Monday April 20 my colleague Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung lost his life as he was conducting a humanitarian mission. On Monday April 20 my colleague Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung lost his life as he was conducting a humanitarian mission, and the marked United Nations (UN) vehicle he was driving came under fire in Minbya township in Rakhine State. His passenger, an official from the Ministry of Health and Sports, was seriously wounded and we wish him a speedy and full recovery. We have been touched by the outpouring of sympathy expressed by the government, member states of the UN, development and humanitarian partners in Myanmar, and beyond. Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement has condemned the attack and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. Sadly, Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung will not be the last to die in the conflict that is ravaging Rakhine and southern Chin states. Nor is he even the most recent. According to local sources, hundreds of civilians, including large numbers of children, have been killed or injured since the beginning of the year. The conflict also continues to damage and destroy civilian structures. The government reports that more than 76,000 people have been internally displaced by the current fighting - on top of the more than 130,000 internally displaced persons in camps since 2012 and the estimated one million others who have fled from Rakhine State for other reasons. Unfortunately, conflict persists in many parts of Myanmar. On any day, it brings misery to the people who live in the affected areas. It cuts the most vulnerable off from life-saving humanitarian assistance. It robs them, many of whom are the furthest behind in access to services, from development opportunities and pathways out of poverty. And now, like all in Myanmar, they are faced with a new threat, the novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19 for the year when it was first detected, that is affecting the world around us and has also arrived in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication: 2020-04-27
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: U.N. says mostly women and children among 32 killed as insurgents, Myanmar military clash
Description: "A surge in fighting between the Myanmar military and insurgents has killed at least 32 civilians, mostly women and children, in the restive Rakhine and Chin states, the U.N. human rights office said on Friday, adding the military had destroyed homes and schools. Myanmar’s military denies targeting civilians and a spokesman on Friday declined to respond to the allegations. The Arakan Army, an insurgent group seeking greater autonomy for the region, has been battling government troops for more than a year. “Myanmar’s military has been carrying out almost daily air strikes and shelling in populated areas resulting in at least 32 deaths and 71 injuries since 23 March, the majority women and children, and they have also been destroying and burning schools and homes,” U.N. human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville told a Geneva news briefing. He later said that the 32 were civilians..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-04-17
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: AA armed group attacks security forces in MraukU, Kyauktaw townships
Description: "...THE AA armed group carried out landmine and arson attacks on vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and military columns in Rakhine State, according to the reports of Office of Commander- in-Chief of Defence Services. On 13 March, two military columns, which are taking security operations during the matriculation exam in MraukU and Kyauktaw townships, were attacked by remote-controlled mines at 5,000 meter southeast of MraukU Township on Yangon-Sittway Union highway. The AA group also attacked with five remote-controlled mine near Teinnyo Village and TaungU Village. They scattered triangular blade nails to block traffic on the Union highway..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of publication: 2020-03-17
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : PDF
Size: 608.94 KB
more
Title: Contradicting Myanmar Army Denials, Rakhine Pays to Rebuild 528 Houses Burned in Attacks
Description: "The government in Myanmar’s war-torn Rakhine state has paid to rebuild more than 500 houses that were burned in attacks by aircraft and artillery or torched by soldiers last month, disaster officials said Friday, in a revelation that appeared to undercut the national military’s denial that the attacks took place. The state government in Rakhine, where a 16-month-old conflict between Myanmar forces and the rebel Arakan Army has killed scores of civilians, paid more than 90,000,000 kyats ($65,000) on Tuesday to replace the houses burned in Tin Ma village in Kyauktaw township on March 22, said Win Zaw Htay, the director of Rakhine State Natural Disaster Management Department. “A total of 528 houses were burned down in Tin Ma village, Tin Ma village tract, in Kyauktaw Township,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “We have provided 79,400,000 kyats ($56,000) for construction materials for 397 houses and 13,100,000 kyats ($9,200) for another 131 houses. We have given a total of 92,500,000 kyats ($65,000) via Mrauk-U Township disaster management department on April 22,” he added. On March 30, villagers from Tin Ma told a news conference that artillery fire and aerial bombardments by Myanmar forces had killed three civilians and burned scores of houses in their communities between March 12-22, amid fighting between Myanmar forces and the Arakan Army..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-04-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Investigation group into Rakhine crimes holds second meeting
Description: "...THE Crime Investigation and Litigation Group held their second meeting at the Office of the Union Attorney-General in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday. First, Group Chairman Union Attorney-General U Tun Tun Oo said ARSA attacked police outposts, police stations and Tatmadaw troops in Northern Rakhine on 25 August 2017, and this was followed by clashes between ARSA and security forces..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of publication: 2020-03-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : PDF
Size: 411.44 KB
more
Title: Suu Kyi’s Backing for Myanmar Military in Rakhine State Conflict Draws Criticism
Description: "Myanmar’s State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has issued a statement saying she is happy rice is being shipped to Paletwa in Chin State, which has been isolated for a couple of months amid fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA). The government has development plans to boost livelihoods when stability is restored to the township, her statement said. It also condemned the AA as a “terrorist” group for committing subversive acts in Rakhine and Chin states while the government, residents and volunteers worked together to fight COVID-19. The State Counselor’s statement praised the Tatmadaw or military for protecting residents’ lives and property. She pledged support for civilians affected by the fighting and to continue to strive for peace. Her statement drew mixed reactions. The Irrawaddy’s reporters Min Aung Khine and Zin Lin Htet asked political analysts, state government ministers and members of ethnic armed organizations for their reactions..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2020-04-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rakhine Villager Shot at Checkpoint in Latest of Myanmar Civilian Killings
Description: "Myanmar Army soldiers gunned down a villager as he returned home from fishing in war-ravaged Rakhine state, the latest in a series of civilian killings, with troops saying the man failed to follow instructions at a security checkpoint, the victim’s father said Wednesday. Tuesday’s shooting occurred a day after a local World Health Organization employee died from wounds sustained when gunmen fired on him and another health worker Monday as they drove through the same township. An employee of a pest control company also died after being shot in the head in a separate incident on Tuesday. Kyaw Win Chey, who was in his early thirties, was returning home to May Lwan village in Minbya township after fishing in a river near his community when Myanmar soldiers shot him dead, his father Kyaw Hla Oo told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “Yesterday my son went to the Kangpaing Chaung area to go fishing,” he said. “He was coming home when we heard the gunshots. He must have met the soldiers as he entered the village [because] the soldiers shot him at the edge of the village. His mother witnessed it.” Following the incident, Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief’s office issued a statement saying that security forces fired warning shots after Kyaw Win Chey failed to stop his motorbike and kept going through the checkpoint. Soldiers who inspected Kyaw Win Chey’s body found a Chinese made grenade and a knife in a toolbox on the motorbike, according to the office’s statement..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar military steps up attacks as coronavirus spreads
Sub-title: Tatmadaw steps up attacks in Rakhine despite epidemic, killing more than 40 people in April alone, say rights group.
Description: "As deaths from the new coronavirus mounted in South Korea, Iran and Italy in early March, Myanmar's military called off grand plans to mark the 75th anniversary of its World War II revolt against Japanese forces. Instead, the Tatmadaw, as the military is known, deployed soldiers to disinfect hospitals and announced it would set up quarantine facilities to treat infected patients. But rights groups say the Tatmadaw is doing little where it counts - ending the long-running ethnic conflicts in Myanmar's border states, where some armed groups have called for a ceasefire to focus on the battle against the coronavirus. More: Eight killed in Myanmar's troubled western state of Rakhine Persecution of critics 'continues in Aung San Suu Kyi's Myanmar' Myanmar charges journalist under terrorism law, blocks news site "While the country is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the military is escalating its offensives against ethnic armed groups in Rakhine, Chin, Karen and northern Shan state," said Naw Hser Hser, general-secretary of the Women's League of Burma..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-04-16
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: The Rohingya from Burmese Perspective
Description: "...The conflict between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar is a multilayered problem with various interlinked causes. The disputes have spread outside the local area and become a regional problem that also involves other countries. This problem cannot be solved in the near future, not as long as the majority of Burmese citizens share the same mindset of hatred toward the Rohingya. It is impossible to fix or change the bitter history between Burmese people and Rohingya. To solve the conflict, the perspective of the Burmese toward the Rohingya must be changed – not only from the Burmese side, as the perspective of the Rohingya towards the Burmese is also hostile. The most important thing is for the Burmese government to treat the conflict seriously and sincerely. The government must find a solution to handle the situation with emphasis on humanity and human rights. I have found that the perspective and perception of the Burmese towards Rohingya depend on the education level of Burmese people. Among the well-educated, even if they believe that the Rohingya are a Bengalese migrants, they still agree that as human beings, the Rohingya should get a chance to enjoy basic human rights. The Rohingya issue is no longer just a Myanmar problem, as it already affects the international community..."
Creator/author:
Date of publication: 2014-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : PDF
Size: 552.8 KB
more
Title: Fighting in Rakhine, Chin states rages as Myanmar limits internet
Sub-title: Activists and journalists say decision to limit internet access in some parts of Rakhine is a violation of basic rights.
Description: " Continued fighting between Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army armed group has left several people dead in recent days as the government continues a clampdown on the western region. Activists and journalists have decried the internet blackout the government has imposed as part of the clampdown as a violation of human rights. More: Myanmar violence: Thousands displaced by fresh fighting Students injured in shelling at school in Myanmar's Rakhine state UN urged to suspend Myanmar return plan for Chin amid unrest Reports on Tuesday said at least 11 civilians, including five Muslim Rohingya, had been killed after being caught in the hostilities in Rakhine, a western state that is home to more than three million people. In a statement, four United Nations human rights experts also said "credible reports" showed that more than 1,000 people had been displaced in the 10 days up to February 18. The Myanmar Times also quoted the Rakhine Ethnic Congress as saying that more than 120,000 have evacuated beginning in November 2018..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-03-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar violence: Thousands displaced by fresh fighting
Sub-title: Government forces are fighting the Arakan Army in the state.
Description: "Government soldiers are in Rakhine state again, more than two-and-a-half years after a military offensive killed thousands of Rohingya and drove out more than 700,000 others. This time, they are fighting the Arakan Army, an armed group founded in 2009 that says it is fighting for the rights of the ethnic, mainly Buddhist, Rakhine minority. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that conditions on the ground and an internet shutdown has made reaching people or gathering information increasingly difficult..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-03-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar: Civilians Caught in Surge of Fighting
Sub-title: Internet Shutdown, Aid Blockage Worsens Humanitarian Crisis in Rakhine State
Description: "A surge in fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine State during February 2020 has killed and injured numerous civilians, adding to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the conflict-riven region, Human Rights Watch said today. The Myanmar military and the insurgent Arakan Army should safeguard civilians from the fighting, abide by the laws of war, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. On February 29, five civilians were killed and at least eight others were injured in clashes between Myanmar forces and the Arakan Army near Mrauk-U town, according to media reports. An ethnic Rakhine nongovernmental organization estimated that at least 18 civilians were killed and 71 were injured during fighting in February, though the actual casualties could be higher because the government’s mobile internet blackout has slowed information-gathering. “The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army need to take immediate steps to minimize harm to civilians during the fighting and allow aid to reach all villages and communities in need,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “The government should immediately restore full internet access so that abuses can be reported, and aid agencies can do their jobs.” Since January 2019, fighting between the Myanmar military, called the Tatmadaw, and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group, has resulted in numerous civilian casualties and destruction of civilian property. At least 21 children were injured on February 13, when artillery fire reportedly hit a school in Khamwe Chaung village, Buthidaung township..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: New age rebels winning the fight in Myanmar
Sub-title: Arakan Army's highly mobile and lethal tactics have made a mockery of government's peace process
Description: "As Myanmar’s government sues for peace, its autonomous military, the Tatmadaw, faces a new type of insurgency it seems increasingly ill-prepared to counter and combat. Myanmar’s “new” insurgents are highly mobile and, unlike the country’s older generation rebel groups, maintain few fixed positions, using instead hit-and-run attacks that have rendered the Tatmadaw’s traditional frontal assaults increasingly ineffective. The situation is in many ways similar to the one the United States faced in the Vietnam War: an invisible enemy which strikes from the shadows, making counterattacks more likely to hit civilians than enemy combatants. That’s all conspiring to undermine the Tatmadaw’s leverage and clout against ethnic armed groups that rely on local population support to sustain their insurgent fights. Previously, Myanmar’s myriad rebel groups aimed to control large swathes of territory protected by fixed and often well-armed installations. The Karen National Union (KNU), long firmly entrenched on the Thai border, maintained several bases along the Moei river and a well-fortified headquarters with permanent buildings housing its civilian administration and military command units..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2020-02-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Ministers Survive Attack on Military Chopper in Rakhine
Description: "A military helicopter carrying a Myanmar Union minister and the Rakhine State chief minister came under fire in Buthidaung Township in northern Rakhine State on Wednesday morning, according to the military. Both ministers survived the attack without injury. Dr. Win Myat Aye, Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, and Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu were flying to Buthidaung Township when their chopper was attacked near Nyaung Chuang Village. They were on their way to visit refugees who have been displaced by fighting between the Myanmar army and ethnic armed group the Arakan Army (AA) in the area. “It happened on their way from [the state capital of ] Sittwe to Buthidaung around 10:45 a.m Wednesday. The body of the chopper was shot twice. They are safe and the vehicle is now back in Sittwe,” military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy. The spokesperson blamed the AA for the attack. “The AA tends to fire at choppers from villages. They don’t care if it reaches [the target] or not,” he said. Khaing Thukha, spokesperson for the AA, told The Irrawaddy that he hadn’t heard about the incident. However, he said that if the helicopter flew over an area where there was a battle, it would likely be shot down because the AA has been targeted by airstrikes nearly every day..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2020-02-19
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar confident of Mrauk-U’s bid for World Heritage Site
Sub-title: Myanmar has applied for UNESCO to recognise Mrauk-U in Rakhine State as a World Heritage Site despite continuing clashes between the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army (AA).
Description: "Mrauk-U, which was the capital of the powerful Arakanese Kingdom from the 15th to 17th centuries, currently restricts visitors for security reasons. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture said it submitted its application for Mrauk-U to UNESCO in January. U Thura Aung, secretary of Myanmar Archaeology Research, expressed hope that peace would soon return to the area. Experts were a bit concerned about the damage caused by an artillery shell that hit a gate near the ancient Htukkan Thein temple and the west side of the ancient Mye Hte pagoda during fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA last year. The Myanmar Archaeology Association urged the two sides to declare a truce in the area because it is being considered as a World Heritage Site Archaeologists have called on the local government and people to mediate an end to the fighting. They are confident that Mrauk-U’s 80,000 pagodas and forts qualify it to be named a World Heritage Site. UNESCO is expected to decide on Mrauk-U’s application by April, and send experts to conduct a site inspection between September and January next year. Nationalists march against amendment effort Hundreds of nationalists marched through downtown Yangon on January 9 to oppose amendments to the 2008 Constitution, especially its ban on citizens who marry foreigners from becoming president or vice president. The activists accused some groups of working with foreign powers to subvert the Buddhist religion and Myanmar’s sovereignty..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-02-14
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Shelling wounds at least 19 children in Myanmar’s Rakhine: authorities
Description: "At least 19 children were wounded when a primary school was hit by shelling in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, a lawmaker and a military spokesman said on Thursday. Clashes between government troops and ethnic insurgents have intensified in Rakhine, from where tens of thousands of people have been displaced since clashes began in December 2018, bringing new chaos to the region from which more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a military crackdown in 2017. The Arakan Army, which recruits from the mostly Buddhist majority, has been fighting for greater autonomy for the western region from the central government. Artillery fire hit the school in Khamwe Chaung village in Buthidaung township on Thursday morning, Tun Aung Thein, a local member of parliament, told Reuters by telephone. He said he did not know who was responsible. “According to the health department, 19 students are injured and one is seriously injured,” the lawmaker said. A military spokesman put the number of wounded at 20, and blamed the insurgents for the attack..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2020-02-13
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Number of Civilian Casualties Grows in Armed Conflict in Myanmar’s Northern Rakhine
Description: "At least seven civilians, including four Rohingya Muslims, died and 30 residents were injured in the past 11 days in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, a local aid worker said Wednesday, as the number of noncombatant deaths grows amid fighting between government forces and the rebel Arakan Army. Nyi Pu, chairman of the Phyusin Metta Social Aid Group from Kyauktaw town, said his organization helped at least 10 injured civilians in the last week. “In just seven days, a Rakhine woman from Myauktaung village and three people from a Muslim village were injured, and a Muslim woman died,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “In another village, one of the five injured children died when a mortar dropped near them,” he said. “Yesterday, four more people were injured when another mortar shell dropped on Myauktaung village.” The civilian death toll in northern Rakhine reached more than 100, while the number of injured was over 250 as of December 2018 when hostilities between the two armies escalated, according to the Rakhine Ethnic Congress, a local relief group. The growing numbers come despite claims by both the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) that their soldiers have been ordered to abide by the rules to avoid injuring villagers..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Legislator pushes Myanmar govt to educate children in IDP camps
Sub-title: A legislator from strife-torn Rakhine State urged the government to come up with a plan to educate children living in camps for people displaced by conflict (IDPs).
Description: "Daw Khin Saw Hla, MP for Rathedaung township, said the government must not neglect the education of the children in the camps. “Our internal conflicts were born during our struggle for independence over 70 years ago,” she said. “No one knows when they will end. The education of the children in war-torn areas should not be neglected.” She called on officials of the National Education Policy Commission (NEPC) to visit the IDP camps so it can formulate a policy on educating them. Daw Khin Saw Hla said thousands of children were among the over 100,000 people who have had to flee their homes since fighting between the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army erupted in 2018. These children do not attend school, she said. In one of the clashes, a high school was closed because the Tatmadaw turned it into a temporary headquarters. “This school has more than 1,000 students from 24 nearby villages, including Kyauktan village. Now they are having difficulty learning. The Tatmadaw should not station troops in schools,” she said. She also said the programme of the Department of Alternative Education and Myanmar Literacy Resource Centre to give a second chance to children aged 10 to 12 years old who drop out of school should be extended to Rakhine..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Residents Flee 20 Rakhine Villages in Surge in Myanmar Fighting After Local Internet Ban
Description: "More than 1,100 residents from 20 villages in Myanmar’s war-torn northern Rakhine state have fled a surge in fighting between government troops and the rebel Arakan Army, a local administrator and a lawmaker said Monday. The new wave of internally displaced persons (IDPs) comes amid the daily shelling of communities and the restoration of an internet service ban in five townships where the armed conflict has intensified during the past year and the population of displaced has swelled past 100,000 people. “So far, we’ve got over 1,100 IDPs,” said Nyi, administrator of Buthidaung’s Thaykan Kwasone village, adding that the fleeing villagers arrived on Feb. 5-9, a day after the Myanmar Army, Navy, and Air Force launched clearance operations in the area. “The Social Welfare Ministry is providing assistance for 600 IDPs, though we have requested more,” he said. “The [displaced] have been divided up between the monastery and in a village. We’re building temporary camps for those who exceed the capacity of the monastery.” The IDPs are from Konedan, Kularchaung, Zeyarmyaing, Oophauk, Thameehla Ywathit, Thameehla Ywa Haung, and Ohnchaung villages in Rathedaung township and from Kyaukpyin Seik and Seikkhu villages in Buthidaung township..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-10
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Again Cuts Rakhine State’s Internet
Sub-title: Restore Telecommunications, Allow Aid to Conflict Areas
Description: "Myanmar authorities have issued a surprise order reinstating the shutdown of mobile internet traffic in five townships in Myanmar’s northwestern Rakhine and Chin States. Added to four other Rakhine State townships where mobile internet service has been blocked since June 2019, this leaves nine townships unable to get online, causing an information blackout that affects approximately one million people. The Ministry of Transport and Communications’ directive to internet and telecommunications providers cited security requirements and public interest as the reasons for re-imposing the shutdown, which had been lifted in the five townships in September. The Norwegian Telenor Group issued a statement to inform the public of the directive, and said it was seeking further clarification from the ministry. This communications shutdown places civilians at risk as the fighting between the ethnic-Rakhine Arakan Army and Myanmar’s military intensifies. About 106,000 civilians have been displaced by the conflict. Blocking local communities’ ability to communicate makes it harder for civilians to obtain help when needed, and significantly more difficult for humanitarian agencies to assist vulnerable populations. The Rakhine State government has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis by imposing restrictions on aid access in eight townships..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Two Rohingya women killed in Myanmar shelling
Description: "Two women, one pregnant, were killed and seven other people were wounded when shells hit a Rohingya village in Myanmar's Rakhine state. The army rejected accusations from a local lawmaker, a villager and the Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group, that the Myanmar military was responsible for the shelling at Kin Taung, two days after the United Nations' highest court ordered Myanmar to protect the Rohingya. Maung Kyaw Zan, a member of the national parliament for Buthidaung township in northern Rakhine state, said shells fired from a nearby battalion hit Kin Taung village in the middle of the night. "There was no fighting, they just shot artillery to a village without a battle," he told Reuters by phone, adding it was the second time this year that civilians had been killed. Soe Tun Oo, a Rohingya villager living a mile from the village, told Reuters by phone that two houses were destroyed. A military statement confirmed the deaths, but blamed the AA, a Rakhine ethnic rebel group which has been fighting for greater autonomy in the state for more than a year. Two military spokesmen did not answer calls seeking comment. "AA terrorists committed firing at Bengali villages with the use of heavy weapons and planting mines," the statement said. The Arakan Army said in a statement on its website that there was "ample evidence" that the army committed the killings without giving specific details. It accused Myanmar's forces of "deliberate, false and misleading lies" aimed at discrediting the group. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the details of the incident. At a press conference on Feb 3, the army objected to the story about the deaths that Reuters had published on Jan 25, saying the account was biased. It referred specifically to the headline on the story, which blamed the army for the deaths, citing the member of parliament. It said it had filed a complaint to the Myanmar Press Council (MPC), which adjudicates disputes between authorities and news media..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication: 2020-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: The changing face of Myanmar’s raging Rakhine war
Sub-title: Nation’s most volatile and fast shifting armed conflict complicates China’s Belt and Road ambitions
Description: "Historically ethnic conflict in modern Myanmar has been a glacially slow-moving disaster, debilitating the nation’s politics while shifting only incrementally from one decade to the next. In 2019, the eruption, spread and intensification of nationalist revolt in Rakhine state abruptly upended that familiar landscape with sobering implications for an already fragmented and floundering peace process and domestic security more broadly. The new war in Rakhine state, pitting the military against the local Arakan Army (AA), a widely popular force led by a young and ideologically committed leadership, is also increasingly impacting Myanmar’s regional standing at a range of levels. China’s push for economic connectivity to the Bay of Bengal, stage-center during President Xi Jinping’s recent state visit to Myanmar, will now need to navigate the hostilities already lapping close to the projected deep-sea port and special economic zone at Kyaukphyu, a crucial component of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Poor prospects for any repatriation of the Muslim Rohingya refugee population camped in neighboring Bangladesh, estimated as high as one million, are now further receding, while additional migrant flows out of the state towards Southeast Asia are slowly gathering pace..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2020-01-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Military, AA Swap Blame for Civilian Deaths in Chin State
Description: "The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) have denied responsibility for the deaths of three civilians killed last week in Chin State’s Paletwa Township. According to local residents, a teacher from Se Phalaung Village and two civilians from Kyet U Wa Village in Paletwa were abducted by a group of men last Tuesday and the three were found dead on Friday with their hands tied and knife wounds in a forest a little over 3 kilometers from urban Paletwa. The Khumi Affairs Coordination Council (KACC), a local civil society organization, said in a statement on Friday that the three were abducted by AA fighters. Two days later, the AA released a statement denying responsibility for their deaths and accusing the Myanmar military of being responsible for the killings. The same day, the Myanmar military responded that the three were killed by the AA. “All the villagers know [that the three were abducted by the AA]. The AA’s accusation is baseless. They arrested the three while they were sitting in their house around 8 p.m. on Jan. 7. Everyone knows it was the AA,” said military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2020-01-14
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar's Rakhine state teetering towards war
Topic: violent conflict, conflict,crisis, rakhine state
Topic: violent conflict, conflict,crisis, rakhine state
Description: "Rakhine state is descending into growing turmoil. Globally long associated primarily with the brutal oppression of the Rohingya, the much wider dimensions of Rakhine's troubles are now visible, including their international implications. Given their complexity, a broader perspective is badly needed to help bring about stability, development and prosperity for all Rakhine's people. Governments around the world, but especially in the region, have a legitimate role to play in helping to find solutions. Rakhine lies at the crossroads of Asia and its stability, ethnic harmony and economic promise are important for both South Asia and Southeast Asia. As a matter of course, that includes Asean. Moreover, its membership reflects a diversity similar to that of Rakhine state. It is to be hoped that in-depth discussions on this issue will be held at the Asean foreign ministers retreat in Vietnam this week..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2020-01-15
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rakhine restaurants shut down, accused of funding 'terrorism'
Sub-title: Myanmar’s anti-money laundering authority alleged the Yangon eateries were used as fronts to fund the Arakan Army
Description: "The Central Body on Anti-Money Laundering ordered two Rakhine restaurants in Yangon to shut down last week, alleging the businesses were being used to launder funds to the Arakan Army (AA), an armed ethnic group warring with the Myanmar military in Rakhine state. One of the restaurants is co-owned by Aung Myat Kyaw, the brother of AA chief Twan Mrat Naing. The other is owned by well-known Rakhine singer Win Ko Khaing. Both restaurants specialise in Rakhine cuisine, known for its seafood and spice. Aung Myat Kyaw’s Tamwe township restaurant, Phoenix, opened in 2015. Win Ko Khaing opened Maha Nwe in South Okkalapa township in October. Aung Myat Kyaw has been on trial since being deported from Singapore last July for allegedly funding the AA, which the Tatmadaw has accused of terrorism. He was deported with five other Rakhine natives then living in Singapore; they currently face prison sentences of 10 years to life. Singapore’s home ministry accused the six of using the city-state “as a platform to organize support for armed violence” in Myanmar. Aung Myat Kyaw and several of the deportees were members of the Arakan Association Singapore, an organisation that held social and cultural events for Rakhine migrants living in Singapore. Association chair Hein Zaw was among them..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2020-
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: UNICEF statement on the death of four children due to an explosion in Rakhine State, Myanmar
Topic: Child protection, Armed conflict, Myanmar
Topic: Child protection, Armed conflict, Myanmar
Description: "UNICEF Myanmar expresses deep sorrow over the death offour children on Monday when an explosive device went off while they were collecting fire wood in the forest near Htike Htoo Pauk village of Buthedaung Township in Rakhine State. Five more children were injured in the incident. Our thoughts go to the families of the victims, to those injured and to all children caught up in conflict. UNICEF is deeply concerned about the continued reports of killings and injuries of children, as a result of intensified fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Arakan Army in the conflict-affected areas of Rakhine State. In 2019 alone, 16 children lost their life and 36 have been severely injured in conflict affect areas of Myanmar as a result of incidents caused by landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERWs). UNICEF urges all parties to the conflict to stop laying mines and to clear existing mines and unexploded ordinances to ensure the safety of children caught up in conflict, and to uphold their right to protection. UNICEF also urges the Government to facilitate access for the provision of emergency Mine Risk Education activities so children, teachers and other community members receive psychosocial support and mine risk education in schools and communities in all conflict-affected areas of Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (Myanmar) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication: 2020-01-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rakhine is on a precipice
Topic: Rakhine, Arakan Army, Tatmadaw, 2020 election
Sub-title: As Myanmar marked Independence Day on January 4 with formal ceremonies, a national holiday and street games, a very different anniversary passed almost without mention in the country’s west.
Topic: Rakhine, Arakan Army, Tatmadaw, 2020 election
Description: "Exactly a year earlier, Arakan Army soldiers had staged coordinated attacks on four police stations in northern Rakhine State, killing 13 officers. The attacks have precipitated bloody clashes, mass displacement and human rights violations in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin State. More than 100 civilians have been killed and many more injured as a result of small arms fire, artillery barrages and landmines. The Rakhine Ethnics Committee, a local civil society group, estimates that around 100,000 people have been displaced. Official figures are less than half that, but even if the true figure is somewhere in the middle, it represents a significant and tragic toll. Rakhine was already reeling from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks in 2016-17 and the military’s subsequent crackdowns that sent almost 750,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. But the conflict with the Arakan Army has plunged the state into new depths of violence and chaos. The outlook is bleak. Despite early predictions that the Arakan Army would be unable to sustain its operations, it has proven remarkably resilient and the fighting continues to spread. Most recently, on Christmas Day, clashes were reported in Ann Township, a Tatmadaw stronghold and home of its Western Command. The AA appears to have no shortage of recruits, and continues to find ways to arm and supply its forces. Its success is built largely on strong popular support. The government and military have sought to undermine this through a range of harsh measures, including detaining those suspected of links to the AA, cutting supplies to camps for the internally displaced, shutting down mobile internet access and restricting the activities of civil society groups. Predictably, these seem to have had the opposite effect, by further antagonising civilians..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2020-01-10
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Orders Government Workers in Rakhine to Obtain Permission to Travel Due to Conflict
Description: "The Myanmar government has ordered its employees in war-stricken Rakhine state to obtain official permission before they travel by land or water amid an uptick in abductions of civilian officers by the rebel Arakan Army as it fights national forces for greater autonomy in the state, the border affairs minister said Friday. The Ministry of Border Affairs issued the directive in December, Colonel Min Than, who oversees the ministry, told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “The Union government has issued a directive for government staff,” he said. “If they travel, they need to obtain permission from the corresponding department chief and must report to security forces in the travel area through the state government.” “They should make prior arrangements before they travel,” he said. “If government employees travel on their own, something could happen.” “If they report beforehand, the authorities will make arrangements for them, such as reserving a spot for them on military-operated ferries or transporting them via helicopter,” Min Than said. “Depending on their route, the authorities can make arrangements.” Aung Lin, the officer in charge of Rakhine state’s branch of the Inland Water Transport Department, said ferry tickets will be sold to government workers only if they have proof of permission to travel..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-01-03
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rakhine: the new front in Myanmar's violent ethnic conflicts
Sub-title: Violence flared a year ago when the Arakan Army attacked Myanmar police, forcing thousands from their homes.
Description: "A year ago, four police stations in the conflict-ridden western Rakhine State of Myanmar came under attack from the Arakan Army (AA) leaving an estimated 13 officers dead and nine injured. The response was swift. Myanmar's military (also known as the Tatmadaw) promised to "crush the terrorists", marking the beginning of the latest bloody chapter in the country's never-ending conflicts, waged primarily between the Tatmadaw and various ethnic rebel groups. Rakhine has become notorious as the location of the military's brutal campaign against the mostly Muslim Rohingya, which led to the exodus of 740,000 people and accusations of genocide. What the military called "clearance operations" were partially justified by claims that the Muslims posed a threat to Rakhine Buddhists and their way of life, but the AA, founded in 2009 is an ethnic Rakhine, religiously Buddhist armed group..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2020-01-07
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Ethnic Alliance Cease-fire Makes No Difference as Rakhine Fighting Rages in 2020
Description: "A unilateral cease-fire extended into the New Year by the “Three Brotherhood Alliance” of ethnic armies battling Myanmar’s armed forces appeared to make little difference as residents across the conflict zone in Rakhine state reported fighting this week. Local lawmakers and villagers said Thursday that the armed conflicts have continued despite the cease-fire announcement by the Arakan Army (AA) and its allies the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). They had announced Wednesday that they were extending a temporary unilateral cease-fire against Myanmar forces until Feb. 29 to allow more time to implement negotiations with the Myanmar military — the second extension since September. The three ethnic armies, which along with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) form the Northern Alliance, have been meeting with government peace negotiators to discuss bilateral truces, but have made little headway. The parties have agreed to meet again in January. The AA said armed conflicts are continuing because the military has used excessive force to intrude into its territory..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2020-01-02
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rakhine Rebels Say Myanmar Official Killed in Fighting
Description: "Rebels in Myanmar's Rakhine region said a captured official from Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling party has died, two weeks after being taken for organizing protests against genocide accusations faced by Myanmar at the World Court. The Arakan Army rebels said Buthidaung National League for Democracy (NLD) Chairman Ye Thein, the most senior civilian official to die in the growing insurgency, was killed Monday in an attack on the rebels by Myanmar's army. There was no independent confirmation. The incident underscored the increasing loss of government control in a region that came to world attention when 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh to escape an army crackdown on a different rebel group in 2017. The Arakan Army said its positions had come under attack from Myanmar's army. "Due to big explosions, some detainees died and some were wounded. The NLD chairman from Buthidaung, Ye Thein, died on scene," the Arakan Army said in the statement. It said he had been taken prisoner on December 11..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK) via "VOA" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-12-25
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: UNICEF statement on the horrific killing of a school boy in Rakhine State, Myanmar
Description: "On 6 December, yet another child lost his precious life in a horrific manner. The nine-year-old student, who was reportedly still wearing his school uniform and fleeing his school with other students because they heard sounds of armed clashes, was struck by several bullets and died on the spot on the road in front of his school, Basic Education Primary School – Pike The, in Kyauktaw, Rakhine State. We are shocked and saddened at such tragic loss of a child’s life. UNICEF is deeply concerned about the alarming increase of reports of killings and injuries of children, as a result of intensified fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Arakan Army in the conflict-affected areas of Rakhine State. UNICEF calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure the full respect of the civilian character of schools, and to prevent any interference of armed actors with education infrastructures, personnel and students in line with national legal frameworks such as the Child Rights Law and the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement as well as obligations under international law. The presence of armed actors in or around schools increases the risk of schools being targeted and students and school personnel may be harmed, and school facilities damaged. It prevents children from accessing education, and associates schools with violent and traumatic events. We owe it to children to keep them safe at school and we urge all parties to the conflict, to exercise maximum restraint and to protect children at all times. UNICEF further calls on the Government of Myanmar to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration and to adopt the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict, into domestic policy and operational frameworks..."
Source/publisher: UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-12-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Rights Commission Declines to Conduct Rakhine Abuse Investigation
Description: "Myanmar’s human rights commission will not investigate alleged abuses committed against civilian detainees in war-ravaged northern Rakhine state, including deaths in custody of the government military, unless the army first finds soldiers guilty of such abuse, two lawmakers who requested probes told RFA’s Myanmar Service on Monday. Oo Tun Win and Myint Naing, two lawmakers from Rakhine’s Kyauktaw township, submitted a formal letter to Myanmar’s parliament on June 21 through the Committee for Compliant and Appeals, urging an investigation into incidents in which suspects died in military detention, and calling for legal action against violators. On Monday, nearly six months after submitting the letter, the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) replied that it would take legal action only if current investigations by a Ministry of Defense tribunal found soldiers guilty. Oo Tun Win said the commission’s response is unsatisfactory. “I would like to hear the human rights commission’s conclusion on the case,” he told RFA. “It has the authority to investigate and expose the losses of citizens’ rights and present the findings to the relevant ministries.”..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-12-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Group Says 92,500 Civilians Displaced by Fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Description: "More than 92,500 civilians have been displaced by armed conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where hostilities between Myanmar forces and the rebel Arakan Army have raged for a year, according to a tally issued Wednesday by a nonprofit organization that promotes ethnic rights. Zaw Zaw Tun, secretary of the Rakhine Ethnics Congress (REC) and a relief volunteer in the region, said his organization has been surveying the number of ethnic Rakhine civilians who have fled their homes because of armed clashes. “We are trying to survey the IDPs [internally displaced persons] as accurately as possible,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “So far, we’ve recorded more than 92,500 IDPs.” But he added that a true estimate would be difficult to state because of a shortage of people on the ground to count the numbers of IDPs. After fighting intensified in northern Rakhine state in late November, thousands of residents from villages in Rathedaung, Buthidaung, and Myebon townships left their communities to seek safety elsewhere Rathedaung township, where the greatest number of clashes has occurred, has the greatest number of IDPs at about 30,000, as estimated by local lawmakers..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-11-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar: Conflict between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar Military - Update on humanitarian needs and response in Rakhine and Chin States (as of 1 November 2019)
Description: "Since the end of 2018, there has been a significant upsurge in violence in Rakhine State after armed conflict broke out between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar Military. The violence escalated following attacks by the AA against military sites in January 2019 and subsequent counter-attacks by the Myanmar Military. The conflict has led to civilian casualties and the destruction of property that has spread to nine townships of Rakhine State (Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung) and Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State. Ann and Kyaukphyu townships have been affected at certain points. The conflict has led to a significant displacement of people, some for extended amounts of time and some for short periods, with people fleeing violence subsequently returning to their homes within a few days or weeks. While fighting has occurred largely in rural areas and remote locations, key transport routes and urban and semi-urban areas have also been impacted. Tens of thousands of civilians living in villages have been caught in the middle of intense armed conflict..."
Source/publisher: OCHA (New York), UNHCH (Geneva) via Reliefweb (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-11-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 351.77 KB (8 pages)
more
Title: Myanmar Military Commander, 6 Soldiers Killed in Mine Attack, AA Says
Description: "A Myanmar military battalion commander and six other soldiers were killed in a mine attack launched by the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township on Wednesday, according to AA information officer Khaing Thukha. The AA attacked the military troops using remote-detonated mines around noon on Wednesday near the village of Thayet Tapin. “We intercepted military troops at a bridge over Tha Yee Creek near Thayet Tapin Village around 12 p.m. yesterday,” Khaing Thuka told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. “Seven soldiers, including Light Infantry Battalion 374 commander Lieutenant-Colonel Yan Naung Win, were killed and some were injured,” he said. The bridge is located near the Yangon-Sittwe road. “Yesterday, we heard an explosion beyond the bridge. Nobody dared to go outside after hearing the explosion,” a resident of Thayet Tapin Village told The Irrawaddy. “All the shop owners by the road have closed their shops and stayed in their houses since then. Soldiers are still staying at those shops.” The road was temporarily closed after the incident and was reopened around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, according to local residents. However, Myanmar military Western Command spokesperson Colonel Win Zaw Oo denied there was any mine explosion or that any soldiers were killed near Thayet Tapin Village on Wednesday..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-11-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Nearly 2,000 Flee Rakhine Villages in Fear of Myanmar Army ‘Clearance Operations’
Description: "Ongoing hostilities between Myanmar forces and the rebel Arakan Army in Rakhine state forced about 1,700 civilians to flee villages in three townships this week, amid fears that they would be detained and possible tortured by national soldiers conducting “clearance operations” in their communities, locals said. Troops have already detained five area villagers to interrogate to determine if they have ties to the Arakan Army (AA), while others who were freed said Myanmar soldiers tortured them during questioning, leaving them with physical injuries. More than 1,000 residents of Ywatharya village have fled their homes in the past few days after Myanmar soldiers entered the community to search for anyone with ties to the AA, villagers said. “Clearance operations” is a term used by the military that strikes fear in local residents after numerous incidents in which soldiers have shot at or abused civilians in Rakhine state..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-11-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Arakan Army Releases Firefighters Detained in Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Description: "The Arakan Army on Wednesday released 18 firefighters detained in October in western Myanmar’s war-torn Rakhine state, saying that its soldiers are holding no others civilians except for a local lawmaker taken three days ago. A statement issued by the Arakan Army (AA), which is fighting government forces in a quest for greater autonomy in Rakhine state, lists the names and personal information of the 18 men on a statement it issued about their release. The statement also said that the ethnic army is holding legislator Hwai Tin for security reasons, but did not elaborate. AA soldiers detained 18 firefighter recruits and the deputy station chief of the state Fire Services Department on Oct. 11 as they traveled on a bus from central Myanmar’s Mandalay region to Rakhine’s capital Sittwe after completing basic firefighting training in the town of Pyin Oo Lwin. The AA troops believed that the firemen were auxiliary soldiers of the national army. On Oct. 28, the AA released a dozen other bus passengers it had detained, including construction workers, after determining that they were civilians and had no connection to the Myanmar military..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-11-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Indian nationals released in Myanmar by Arakan Army
Sub-title: The two Indian nationals were taken into captivity by an insurgent group called the Arakan Army in Myanmar while they were travelling there to work on a road project.
Description: "Two Indian nationals who were captured by the Arakan Army released in Myanmar. Arrangements are being made to bring the two back to India. "The Indian nationals have been released and the Consular General of Sittwe is coordinating their movement from Kyauktaw," sources said here. The two Indian nationals were taken into captivity by an insurgent group called the Arakan Army in Myanmar while they were travelling there to work on a road project. The two were captured when they were on their way from Paletwa to Sittwe. According to sources, an MP from Myanmar was also captured by the group. The Indian team is working on a road project connecting Mizoram to Sittwe Port in Rakhine state in Myanmar, sources said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "India Today" (India)
Date of publication: 2019-11-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Number of hostages ‘killed’ as Rakhine rebels, Myanmar army clash
Description: "A number of hostages seized by ethnic Rakhine rebels in a raid on a ferry packed with scores of Myanmar security forces have been killed, the insurgents and army said late Sunday, blaming each other for the deaths. On Saturday rebels from the Arakan Army (AA), who are fighting for greater autonomy for Rakhine Buddhists from the state, forced a ferry to the shore taking around 50 people hostage including 14 soldiers and 29 police officers. The army said it deployed attack helicopters in pursuit of the rebels who tried to escape with the detainees loaded onto three boats. Both sides confirmed some of the hostages were killed in a melee, but did not give a number for the dead and traded blame for who was responsible. The AA released a statement late Sunday saying military attack helicopters armed with machine guns and rockets hit the group as they were being “taken for questioning to a safe place in boats.” “Some detainees we took for questioning were killed, two boats were completely destroyed.” The army refuted the allegation saying the AA “killed them before the fighting took place” with security forces..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2019-10-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Arakan Army Trains Fighters to Oppose Myanmar’s Military
Description: "In Myanmar, several hundred young people kick up dirt as they run early one morning along a dusty path. They are preparing to join groups such as the Arakan Army (AA), which operates training camps in the northern state of Kachin. The area also is home to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), another armed group. The AA was formed in 2009 and now claims to have 7,000 troops. It is fighting in Rakhine State against troops loyal to the government of Myanmar, also called Burma. The Arakan Army says it is fighting for more self-rule and control over their territory. “The reason I joined the Arakan Army and train as a female soldier is because I don’t want to see the Myanmar army oppress and kill Rakhine people anymore,” says Soe Soe. The young woman carried an AK-74 rifle on her shoulder as she spoke to a VOA reporter. “The Myanmar army bullies and treats us badly in every way they can. I can’t take it so I made a decision to serve my nationality and army,” Soe Soe added. The AA is just one group belonging to the Northern Alliance. Others include the KIA, the Ta-ang Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)..."
Source/publisher: "VOA Learning English" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: A Daring Helicopter Rescue After Rebels Capture a Ferry in Myanmar
Description: "When the ferry pushed off from a dilapidated pier in western Myanmar, few of the passengers could have predicted how dangerous the journey would turn out. Later on Saturday, along a riverbank dotted with mangroves, a rebel group abducted dozens of soldiers and government workers from the ferry at gunpoint. That drew a risky rescue attempt by army helicopters, which swooped in to try to free the hostages as their captors then spirited them away in three separate boats. Gunfire erupted on both sides, and the army later said it had rescued 14 of the 58 hostages. The rebels said some were killed by helicopter fire, and they were keeping the survivors for “further investigation.” The drama unfolded in a rural section of Rakhine State, a strip of land on the country’s west coast where Myanmar’s army, known as the Tatmadaw, staged a brutal ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in 2017. Sign up for The Interpreter Subscribe for original insights, commentary and discussions on the major news stories of the week, from columnists Max Fisher and Amanda Taub. SIGN UP The scale of the abduction suggests that the rebel group, The Arakan Army — a guerrilla force from the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group that makes up most of the state’s population — is using increasingly brazen tactics to press its demand for independence..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Deaths reported after rebels abduct dozens in Myanmar's Rakhine
Sub-title: Arakan Army rebel group says three military helicopters attacked three boats carrying kidnapped troops and two sank.
Description: "An ethnic rebel army in Myanmar said some of the several dozen soldiers, police and civilian officials it abducted from a ferry were killed in a subsequent attack by government helicopters. A statement posted on Sunday on the website of the Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group in the western state of Rakhine, said three helicopters attacked three boats carrying the captured personnel after they were seized on Saturday, sinking two..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rebels Dressed as Soccer Players Abduct Bus Passengers in Myanmar
Sub-title: Gunmen stopped the vehicle on a highway outside the town of Mrauk U and seized 31 people, most of them firefighters, the authorities said.
Description: "Gunmen dressed in soccer uniforms halted an express bus on a main highway in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine State and kidnapped 31 people, most of them firefighters, the authorities said on Sunday. The abduction happened Friday morning, and began when a man stepped onto the highway in the bus’s path outside the ancient town of Mrauk U and forced it to stop, according to a military spokesman, Col. Win Zaw Oo. More than 10 armed men in soccer uniforms, identified as members of a rebel group called the Arakan Army, then emerged from the jungle and boarded the bus, he said. They ordered the passengers to take their belongings and marched them away...."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar's Arakan Army is Recruiting and Training to Fight Government
Description: "On the edge of a mountainside in Northern Myanmar’s Kachin state, several hundred young army recruits kick up the dust as they jog down a trail during early morning military drills. New recruits are joining groups such as the Arakan Army which has set up training camps in Kachin state, home to fellow Northern Alliance member, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The Arakan Army (AA) formed in 2009 and is currently fighting in Rakhine State against government forces in ongoing skirmishes that have escalated in recent months, amid faltering cease-fire talks. The AA is the armed wing of the United League of Arakan, headquartered in Laiza. Laiza is the capital of KIA - controlled Kachin State, bordering China. The Arakan Army say that they have a current force of 7,000 troops. Like most of the ethnic armed groups within the country who haven’t signed peace agreements, the Arakan army say they are fighting for more self-autonomy and control over their territory..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Voice of America (VOA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Rakhine rebels disguised as sports team abduct dozens after storming Myanmar bus: Army
Description: " Suspected ethnic Rakhine rebels disguised as a sports team stormed a bus in rural Myanmar and took 31 hostages - mostly off-duty firefighters and construction workers - authorities said Sunday (Oct 13). The state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar said the bus - travelling to the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe - was flagged down by a man dressed in civilian attire before 18 rebels in sportswear emerged from the forest and ordered the passengers off at gunpoint. "We are still following them," Colonel Win Zaw Oo told AFP, adding the insurgents may have mistaken the firemen for members of the armed forces. The Arakan Army, which is fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, could not immediately be reached for comment. Myanmar's army has deployed thousands of troops to the state to try to crush the rebels. Rights groups say Myanmar's military has abducted civilians and tortured detainees, but the army points to targeted shootings, roadside bombings and kidnapping by insurgents. Rakhine state was also the site of a deadly crackdown that in August 2017 drove some 740,000 minority Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of publication: 2019-10-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Civilians in Myanmar’s Conflict-Torn Rakhine State Left to Fend for Themselves
Description: "SITTWE, Rakhine State—Ma Aye Myint, 24, has a bullet wound on her right arm from when Myanmar military troops were shooting near Mahamuni Village in Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township on July 31. When reporters from The Irrawaddy met her, she was sitting outside the rented guesthouse room where she lives. A baby, almost two months old, was lying next to her. In the Rakhine language, she told what happened to her. Ma Aye Myint was hit when Myanmar military troops shot at a motorbike driver who refused to stop after the soldiers ordered him to, according to her husband Ko Zaw Zaw. The couple’s home sits next to the Yangon-Sittwe highway, diagonally opposite from the village’s Mahamuni Pagoda, where Myanmar military troops were stationed until recently. The soldiers shot the motorbike driver out on the highway and people in the surrounding houses hid when they heard the sound of gunfire. All of Ma Aye Myint’s family members ran to hide inside the trench under the barn, or lay down, but she was pregnant and couldn’t hide as quickly. After she was hit, she was taken to Sittwe Hospital where she was treated for 21 days. On Aug. 16, while still in the hospital, Ma Aye Myint gave birth to a girl, but because of her injuries, she still can’t hold her daughter. Someone else has to help her breastfeed, bathe the baby and change the baby’s clothes. When The Irrawaddy asked the Myanmar military’s Western Command spokesperson Colonel Win Zaw Oo about the incident, he said at the time that there was no fighting near Mahamuni..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-10-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Two civilians killed in Rakhine fighting
Description: "Two civilians were shot dead Tuesday in a village in Rathedaung township during a fierce clash between Myanmar forces and the Arakan Army (AA), RFA reported quoting local residents and military officials. A 17-year-old mentally disabled man and a 70-year-old woman died during the armed conflict, they said, and their bodies were left with caretakers who remained behind after most others fled to safety. The arrival of a Myanmar military unit in Hteeswe village, close to Kyauktan village, earlier this week prompted most of the residents from both communities to flee their homes, residents said..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Encounters between Tatmadaw and AA broke out in two Arakan townships
Description: "Armed clashes between Myanmar security forces (Tatmadaw) and ArakanArmy (AA) members broke out in two northern townships of Arakan on 29 September, where three civilians received injuries. Residents of Miwa village under Kyauk Taw township namely U Tha Tun Oo (63), Maung Naing Lin Soe (22) and Thaung Htay sustained injuries as the encounter took place near to their village adjacent to Kaladan river. Father of Maung Naing Lin Soe informed that they were working in their farmland for seasonal crops at 8 am on Sunday and suddenly heard the sound of firings from the riverside. “We all tried to hide under a big mango tree and then a bullet hit my son. But fortunately, the injury is not much serious,” added the local farmer. However, another villager named U Tha Tun Oo received serious injuries and he was sent to Sittwe general hospital for necessary treatments. “The bullet hit on his back and the shell was already taken out by the operation. His condition is improving now, but may have to continue treatments for some days,” he revealed. According to the local sources, AA members attacked a ferry ship operated by the security forces on the Kaladan river near to Miwa village in the morning hours. The soldiers retaliated with several gunshots towards the mountain range. Those artillery shells are suspected to wound those three locals..."
Source/publisher: "Narinjara" via "BNI Multimedia Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Military Says Remote Landmines Pose Major Threat in Rakhine
Topic: Arakan Army, Landmines, Rakhine State, Tatmadaw
Topic: Arakan Army, Landmines, Rakhine State, Tatmadaw
Description: "Myanmar military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun has said the Arakan Army (AA) presents a major threat because the ethnic armed group now uses modern technologies in the violent conflict in Rakhine State. The military spokesperson said the military needs to take extra security precautions as the AA has been using remote-detonated explosive devices in their attacks. “Bombings can be carried out via mobile phones and walkie-talkies, so we need to pay greater attention to security,” said Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun. He made the comments in response to a recent report by Indian intelligence agencies that the AA is using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies to trigger landmines targeting the Myanmar army. The Indian government is concerned about the threat the AA poses to the Kaladan Project, a multimodal transport project now under development that will link the Indian port of Kolkata with the port in Sittwe, Rakhine State’s capital and a key gateway for India to access Southeast Asia..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar Army Says It Recaptures Village in Buthidaung from AA
Description: "A military spokesman claimed on Wednesday afternoon that the Myanmar army took control of Oo Yin Tha, a village the military said had been used as a base camp by Arakan Army (AA) troops in Rakhine State’s Buthidaung Township. Colonel Win Zaw Oo from the military’s Western Command told The Irrawaddy, “The villagers knew how long it took for us to take control of the village with our operation. The AA had established a foothold there for three days. We conducted a clearance operation in the village and took control of it [on Wednesday], at around 4 p.m.” In July, the entire population of Oo Yin Tha fled their homes after the village was targeted by artillery and mortar shells. The villagers have been taking shelter in the nearby Kyar Nyo Pyin camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) since then. The village comprises 53 households. Villager Daw Oo San Yin told The Irrawaddy, “We fled our homes two months ago after the soldiers opened fire on us like rainfall.” She said the villagers weren’t sure which troops had been staying in the villages since they left, but had recently heard that the soldiers torched the homes. “We saw the smoke and flames coming from the village. We can still see the fires today. We don’t know how many homes were burned. We dare not go and look,” she added..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: 6 Myanmar Villagers, Including 3-Year-Old, Wounded in Rakhine
Description: "Six villagers, including a little girl, were injured by artillery fire on Monday in the village of Thayet Ta Pin, in Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township. Villagers say the shots came from the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw), though the Tatmadaw has denied responsibility, saying counterfire from the Arakan Army (AA) could just as well have caused the injuries. The AA said they were not there. Villagers told The Irrawaddy that, after an unidentified blast was heard near a passing Tatmadaw column Monday afternoon, soldiers began shooting at homes. “Yesterday afternoon, after 1 p.m., we heard an explosion outside the village, when the soldiers were near our village, coming from Kyauktaw toward Maha Muni pagoda. I do not know how it happened,” Villager U Maung Win told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. “After the explosion, the soldiers who had arrived in the village shot into the houses.” Villagers said those shots injured U Maung Than Mya, 53; U Maung San Thein, 41; Daw Ma Nyunt, 41; U Maung Than Wai, 32; Ko Maung Maung Soe, 16 and Ma Khine Thazin Nyein, 3. Additionally, four female students of the nearby Maha Nwe Boarding School lost consciousness from fright when the explosion went off. They are now being treated at Kyauktaw Hospital..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Arakan Army Raids Myanmar Military Base in Northern Rakhine
Description: "A tactical frontline base of the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) was raided and no less than 30 soldiers were killed by Arakan Army (AA) rebels in rural Mrauk-U Township, in northern Rakhine State, at dawn on Wednesday, Arakan Army spokesperson U Khine Thukha told The Irrawaddy. He said fighting was ongoing between the two sides as of Wednesday evening. U Khine Thukha said the AA staged the attacks on a military station at Lin Mway Taung Hill—a 30-minute drive north of downtown Mrauk-U—and occupied the base within a few hours; his troops then retreated from the hill in the morning after confiscating Tatmadaw mortars, firearms, ammunitions and some prisoners of war. U Khine Thukha said he is still waiting for updates from AA headquarters so could not provide a detailed battle report. He said that although he could not give a precise number of Tatmadaw causalities, the Myanmar military retrieved the dead bodies of its soldiers using three dump trucks and took them to Mrauk-U later on. He said two AA soldiers were killed and five were injured in the raid..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-08-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Militiamen Killed, Injured as Myanmar Rebels Continue Shan State Attacks
Description: "THEINNI, SHAN STATE—Sporadic clashes are ongoing between the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, and joint forces of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in northern Shan State, with casualties and injuries reported in clashes in Theinni and Kutkai townships. Rebel fighters attacked Yay Pu gate, a checkpoint for inspecting smuggled goods between Theinni and Lashio townships, with a rocket-propelled grenade around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning from a nearby hill, killing a militiaman and injuring another, according to Tatmadaw soldiers and police providing security at the gate. “One was hit in the head and another was slightly injured in his right foot,” a military officer at the gate told The Irrawaddy on Saturday..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-08-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: Myanmar conflict: Arakan violence rises in Rakhine state
Description: "In Myanmar's Rakhine state, another ethnic group besides the Rohingya has been fighting for its rights and recognition. The ethnic Arakan people have been battling the Myanmar government for decades, and in 2009 founded their own armed group, the Arakan Army, in 2009. Thousands have fled the violence into neighbouring Chin State and are now living in camps because of the recent spike in violence. Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler reports..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera English"
Date of publication: 2019-08-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more
Title: 3 children killed, 3 injured in Arakan explosion
Description: "At least three children were killed and three others seriously injured in an artillery shell explosion today at a village under Minbya township, 50 miles east of Arakanese capital city of Sittwe. The incident took place at 10 am near the Pan Myaung village hospital, when one of artillery shells fall in the village. According to village sources, Aung Zin Phyo (6 years old son of U Aung Than Mying) and Min Htet Kyaw (9, son of U Kyaw Win) were killed on the spot near their residences. On the other hand, Ma Nyo Nyo Win (15, daughter of U Kyaw Thein) died at the hospital. Few other villagers are also being hospitalized as they received serious injuries. A local villager accused that the artillery shell fall during the Myanmar Army’s exercises nearby Pan Myaung village. “I don’t know if the artillery shell could fall due to intention of the security forces. We know that an army column stationed in the mountain adjacent to our village on 21 August. Since then, they are firing artillery shells to a distant location,” he added. Several residents of the village informed Narinjara News through telephonic conversations that the artillery shell fall down as the security forces started firing from the mountain. The villagers are worried about their safety and security after the tragedy..."
Source/publisher: "BNI Multimedia Group" via Narinjara News
Date of publication: 2019-08-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
more

Pages