The exiled National Unity Government (NUG) has promised to take action if any of the People’s Defence Forces (PDFs), some of which are under NUG’s command, violated its military rules after a video recently circulated showing a young woman being beaten and shot dead in broad daylight in Tamu town in Sagaing Region last Spring. In a statement, the NUG ordered PDFs to investigate this incident to find out if anyone from their respective groups was responsible for the breach of the military code of conduct. It stressed that they must follow military orders while fighting the military regime, which…
Author: Editor
The Kyauktaw – Paletwa waterway was partially reopened by the military on 3 December after an informal ceasefire was agreed with the Arakan Army (AA) at the end of November. Citing security concerns, the regime had closed the waterway for three months after fighting with the AA resumed following the collapse of an earlier peace deal. AA leaders said at their recent sixth press conference that they had agreed to stop fighting out of concern for civilians who are prevented by the military from receiving essential supplies. During the embargo, residents of Paletwa ran out of fuel, rice, cooking oil,…
The regime’s armed forces have killed over 350 Chin nationalities and burned down more than 1,500 homes since last year’s coup, a rights group has found. “Chin State is the poorest ethnic state and the least developed…that’s why the deaths and destruction had such a negative impact. People have lost everything of material value,” says Salai Van Sui San, the deputy director of the Institute of Chin Affairs (ICA). The military has committed serious human rights violations in the state in western Burma and across the country, including attacks on civilians, sexual violence against women and the looting and destruction…
Japan’s Nippon Foundation has again played an important role in negotiating a peace agreement between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Burma Army (BA), which have been fighting each other for several years in southern Chin and northern Rakhine states. At the AA’s sixth press conference on 28 November, the group’s spokesperson Khine Thukha said that Mr Sasakawa, the chairperson of the Nippon Foundation, helped broker the new peace agreement. Sasakawa also mediated with the groups during the 2021 and 2020 ceasefires. Khine Thukha said they agreed to the peace deal with the welfare of the people in mind and…
A man was killed and his spouse injured when the couple stepped on a hidden landmine close to an army checkpoint near the Infantry Battalion 304 base in Matupi Township, southern Chin State, on 29 November. “Pu Ral Pan stepped on a hidden landmine when they were on their way to their cattle ranch and died an hour after the explosion. His wife sustained injuries to her legs,” said a man who wished to remain anonymous. The woman is being treated at Matupi Public Hospital, he said. The 56-year-old man worked for the government’s communications department in Matupi town and…
Women medics of the Kalay People’s Defence Force (PDF) have been sentenced to twelve- years imprisonment after a court in Indailay Prison found them guilty of terrorism under Burma’s Article 50/J and sedition under Article 505 (a) and (c). The nine Chin women, aged 20-28, were arrested when the regime raided the PDF Battalion 3 camp on 16 November 2021. Two resistance fighters and a medic were killed in the attack. The convicted female medics are Ma Zam Zo Zam, Ma Man Luan Dim, Ma Ngiang Duan Cing, Ma Malsawmdawngi, Ma Laltanluaii, Ma Lalnunsangi, Ma Lalmuankimi, Ma Vanlalruati, Ma Lalpianfel.…
Rodents have destroyed paddy plants in farms in more than 20 villages in Paletwa Township in southern Chin State. “They’ve eaten all of the rice and there’s nothing left to harvest in rotating farms,” says a farmer from Sami town. Swarms of rodents consume all of the crops on one farm, he said, and then move onto the next one. When the bamboo species Melocanna baccifera flowers typically every 48 years the rodent population feed off of the flowers leading to overpopulation. Once it is finished, they start eating people’s crops. According to locals, the bamboo in the area started…
The Burma Army (BA) has reportedly killed a mentally ill disabled man in northern Chin State, where fighting has broken out with the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF). Pu Hau Cung Nung went missing on 19 November in Bualte, Falam Township, and his lifeless body was found covered in wounds three days later. A male villager, who spoke to Khonumthung News on condition of anonymity, said the 56-year-old had lost his hearing in addition to his other disabilities. “He was in the village when there were clashes nearby and he did not want to flee when the (BA) soldiers arrived.”…
The regime used fighter jets in a retaliatory attack against a coalition of Chin resistance groups that had attacked its camp in Falam for five days, causing many regime casualties in the township, which is located in northern Chin State. The Chin National Organisation (CNO), whose armed wing, the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF), is fighting against the Burma Army (BA) along with other Chin armed groups, reported that the BA attacked them at 10.30 am on 21 November after several gunships sent weapons and food to its Tibual camp. At 11 am, CNDF snipers reportedly killed two junta soldiers…
Nearly 5,000 people forced from their homes by junta offensives and clashes with resistance groups have been surviving on meagre rations for nearly two years in Kanpetlet Township, southern Chin State. A man helping them, who preferred to remain anonymous because he feared reprisals, said they do not have enough rice, cooking oil, salt and medicine. The children need books and pencils. “Some donors have provided them with supplies, but it is not enough,” he told Khonumthung News. “The weather is getting colder, but they have no warm clothes. Some camps have received some, but not all,” said a person…