Two civilians – an elderly man and a small child – were injured in Chin State’s Paletwa Township yesterday in the latest clashes between Burmese government forces and the Arakan Army (AA). The two victims were hit by shrapnel when troops from Burma’s government army, the Tatmadaw, opened fire on Mawng-Nama village in Nga-dak village-tract after coming under attack from the AA as they approached the village by boat on the Kaladan River at around 8:30am on Sunday. According to Mawng-Nama village resident Ba Win, his father Rang Doe, 68, and a seven-year-old child suffered injuries when the Tatmadaw fired…
Author: Editor
Residents of Chin State’s Paletwa Township are struggling to meet their basic food needs as Burma’s government army, the Tatmadaw, tightens its control over the amount of rice that it will allow into the conflict-hit region. Citing “security reasons”, the Tatmadaw has limited each village-tract in the township to just 50 bags of rice – far less than the minimum amount required to sustain the local population. The problem is especially severe in remote areas, local sources told Khonumthung News. “There are five villages in the village-tract, so 50 bags is not nearly enough for all of them,” said Huay…
A Lower House parliamentarian for Mindat Township raised concerns this week about what he described as an unequal distribution of the state’s budget throughout the townships. On May 21, Ne Lin Aung pointed out to the legislature that Hakha, Thantlang, Matupi and Falam received a greater share of the budget than the state’s other townships, including his own. He questioned why this gap existed. Ne Lin Aung recalled the funding allocated during the 2016-2017 financial year, in which Hakha received 34 billion kyat (US$22.2 million), Matupi received 12 billion ($7.8 million), and Falam got 10 billion ($6.5 million). The following…
Steel sent by cargo ship to construct a bridge is unusable said a Chin State government spokesperson. Experts from Japan inspected the cargo twice and on the second time found it wouldn’t hold the weight for the bridge that is planned on the Kalandan River in Chin State. “At first, Japanese experts thought the steel would be usable but after testing it in a laboratory we realize it was too damaged,” Soe Htet said. The Arakan Army (AA), an armed group fighting with the Myanmar Army, torched nearly 300 tonnes of steel on the cargo ship during its voyage from…
Locals have been forced to carry food rations for Burma Army troops in Chin State’s Paletwa Township, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) reported on May 17. The Tatmadaw’s Infantry Battalion 77, based in Kha-maung-wa village in Paletwa, called up 31 people on May 15 to work as porters from Meezar village, including internally displaced people (IDPs) who have sought refuge in Meezar. “I had to work as a porter three times in April. All Meezar villagers were rotating to carry food rations for the Burma Army between May 9 and 15,” one IDP told Khonumthung News. “I didn’t want…
After blocking rice sales to Paletwa township, the Myanmar Army is allowing limited amounts to be transported from Rakhine State into southern Chin State under strict conditions. Merchants can carry up to 20 bags but only after they apply for permission from local authorities. “Ward administration authorities are issuing papers for transporting rice,” said a merchant. “We can’t carry many bags. We buy the rice in Kyauktaw township in Rakhine State and then sell it in Paletwa township, in Chin State.” Paletwa township depends on rice purchases from Rakhine State that are transported by boat. But the Tatmadaw blocked it…
The Import and Export Code (IEC) association of Mizoram, India, has blocked the import of Burmese products from Rihkhawdar, Chin State since May 15. The IEC has refused to allow products through the No. 2 Border Trading Camp, as well as through Zemabawk at the entrance to the Mizoram capital of Aizawl. On April 24, IEC representatives said in a press conference in Aizawl that many of the traders of Burmese goods did not have a trade license recognized by the Indian government, known as a “chalan.” Because of this, they didn’t pay tax, causing the government to lose revenue.…
The Burmese government is calling for new bids to build Chin State’s first cement factory, after the company that won the original tender was found to have unpaid debts to the Ministry of Mines. “The company got a contract for gold blocks from the mining ministry, but the company owed many gold tons to them. That’s why the company was rejected by the mining ministry even though the company won the tender for the cement factory in Chin State,” the state’s municipal minister U Soe Htet told Khonumthung News. U Soe Htet said that the factory is a joint venture…
Representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) met with members of the Chin State government in Hakha on Thursday to discuss the provision of humanitarian assistance for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Paletwa Township. Enrique Ochoa Fernandez-Lomana, ICRC’s deputy resident representative in Burma, and Saw Ler Pho, who is in charge of the ICRC’s Mandalay office attended the meeting in the state capital, to follow up on a recent IDP crisis following clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army (AA). “ICRC has been providing humanitarian assistance to IDPs in Rakhine State. There are IDPs in…
Kalay is going to launch a system of checks on vehicles and drivers in an attempt to increase road safety starting on May 13. “Some people in Kalay are disciplined because they wear helmets and have rearview mirrors on their motorbikes,” traffic police officer Thant Zin told Khonumthung News, adding, “That is why we are going to launch security checks in Kalay, for better discipline.” Kalay district and township management committees will lead the campaign. Officials from different departments, as well as ward and village administration authorities, are expected to cooperate with the management committee for the safety campaign. The…