An interview with PDF-Zoland’s female sniper GiGi Across Myanmar, people who rejected the military coup initially expressed their opposition through peaceful protests. However, after the military junta forces began violently cracking down on unarmed civilians, young people nationwide joined the armed resistance. For over four years now, they have been fighting to dismantle the military dictatorship, a struggle that continues to this day. Among these many young individuals is GiGi, a 20-year-old former Grade-10 student. GiGi joined the People’s Defense Force-Zoland (PDF-Zoland) in 2022, operating in Tedim Township in northern Chin State. She became a rare female sniper and currently…
Author: Editor
The military council launched additional airstrikes on Mindat and Kanpetlet in southern Chin State on the afternoon of 2 April, destroying government buildings and houses. According to Mindat residents and the Mindat Township People’s Administration Team, the military council attacked Mindat with the jet fighter, at around 1:30 p.m. on 2 April, dropping two 500-pound bombs. “The junta dropped bombs on the town twice. Some houses and buildings were destroyed. There were no reports of civilian casualties,” said Ko Yaw Man from Mindat Township People’s Administration Team. Five buildings were severely damaged in the airstrike on Mindat, while five others…
Refugees in Tweedan village, Lawngtlai district, Mizoram state, are facing food shortages and are in urgent need of rice assistance, according to aid workers. In Tweedan village, local residents have not allowed the Paletwa refugees from selling goods at the market. Moreover, due to the lack of work during the summer season, many are facing financial difficulties, with some experiencing a shortage of basic necessities, according to Salain Mawsek who is working for refugees. “We have no money as we have no job. We are not allowed to open shops. If this continues, we will face a shortage of food…
An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale with its epicentre about 20km from Myanmar’s second most populous city, Mandalay hit at about 1:00pm on 28 March 2025. There were two earthquakes and aftershocks with their epicentres within 20 km of Mandalay City that has a population of approximately 1.5 million people. The epicentre of the first quake that measured 6.4 on the Richter Scale was about 20 km south east of Mandalay at 12:51 pm local time and the epicentre of the second one, the largest, measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale, hit about 20 km northeast of Mandalay…
Around 3,000 residents from around a dozen villages, primarily inhabited by the Asho Chin people, located along the road connecting Ann Town in Arakan (Rakhine) State to Padan Town in Magway Region, are in urgent need of assistance after being displaced by the junta’s air raids and ground operations. These villages are situated near Ngape and Padan towns in Ngape Township, Magway Region. Some villages have been displaced since 2024, while others fled in 2025. “The displaced villages are all located along the highway. This year, locals of Linte and its surrounding villages were also displaced. The junta carried out…
A total of 27 women and children among Myanmar inmates held at Sajiwa Prison in Imphal, the capital of Manipur, have been released, according to India for Myanmar. The 20 women and 7 children were detained as illegal immigrants in 2022 upon their arrival in Langka Town, Manipur, and had been imprisoned since then. They were all released on March 21. Myanmar inmate U Aung Myint, who was imprisoned in Manipur, recently died due to health issues. India for Myanmar pointed out that the incident undermined India’s human rights values and, along with around 160 Myanmar organizations, urged the Indian…
Because far fewer large trucks can reach the Chin State capital Hakha, bags of rice that previously cost 120,000 MMK have risen in price to 200,000 MMK since the beginning of the year. The price of rice and other staple foods have risen in Hakha because the main road between Kale (Kalay) Township in neighbouring Sagaing Region is currently impassable due to ongoing fighting that started on 9 November 2024, in and around Falam Town in Chin State’s Falam Township,. The journey between Kale and Hakha usually takes about one day but now that the main road is closed it…
The skeletal remains of approximately 15 junta troops and their family members who fled Chin State’s Matupi Town when resistance forces attacked the town in June 2024 have been found in a remote jungle nearby. The bodies were found on 11 March 2025, by members of the Mindat Camp Management Committee in Sub-district 14 of Matupi Township near the border with Mindat Township. They are believed to have fled fighting in Matupi Town and died about a month later in the jungle from a lack of food and water and widespread diarrhoea. The Chin Brotherhood Alliance (CBA) and its allies,…
The junta has been forcibly conscripting more young people, including 13-year-old minors, In Kale (Kalay) Town, Sagaing Region, Junta troops took away about 30 youths, some of whom were just playing sports, from various places in Kale Town between 5 and 10 March 2025. A source close to one of the abducted youths said to Khonumthung: “A young man from my neighbour’s family was also abducted. He was playing Chinlone [cane ball] with his friends when soldiers suddenly arrived and took them away. About 10 young men were seized from there. Since my neighbour is still a minor, his family…
Residents displaced by the junta’s airstrikes in southern Kale Township, Sagaing Region, unable to return home are facing food shortages due to a lack of food. Since 31 January, over 10,000 residents from 15 villages in southern Kale Township have been displaced due to the junta’s relentless airstrikes, which have continued for nearly three months. “Displaced people are struggling to access clean water as they are forced to take shelter in forests and along creeks. The grassroots communities are facing severe hardships, with poor health, limited access to water, and difficulties in sustaining their livelihoods. Even though we have one…