The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) has accused the Arakan Army (AA) of forcing villagers to provide them with rice in Paletwa Township, southern Chin State, even as locals are facing food shortages. According to an October 20 CHRO statement, the AA collected rice since mid-September from five villages in Ngar Shar village tract, five hours from Paletwa town: the 109-household Nga Shar, 74-household Nombu Nge, 56-household Kyaung Chuang, 30-household Nombu Gyi, and the 4-household Kyaung Chaung. CHRO reported that each household was forced to give the soldiers two bags of rice, and 10 villagers from each community were forced…
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The Sagaing Regional COVID-19 Control and Response Committee reported four new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Sagaing Region’s Tamu town this week. “Three of the four new patients with Patient 1 in Tamu town,” Twi Swin Van, head of the Tamu District information and public health department, said. “The other new patient lost their sense of smell and came to test for COVID-19 in the hospital. The person tested positive. They didn’t have a history of travel. Currently, they are receiving medical treatment in the ICU ward in Tamu hospital.” Among the four new cases are a 39-year-old woman from…
With polling about two weeks away, Election Commission (EC) officials are facing challenges collecting advance votes from Chin residents staying in quarantine facilities for the upcoming election. “People are required to stay in a quarantine facility for 14-days. But some won’t be able to cast their vote at a polling station on election day,” said Thawing Za Sang, who’s the secretary of Hakha Township Election Commission (EC). The problem is getting their signature for form-15, which is required for advance voting, he explained. “We need to wear personal protective equipment when collecting their signatures at the quarantine centers.” On Monday…
The Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD) has spoken out against the government designation of a village they say is part of Chin State into Magwe Region for the upcoming general election on November 8. The CNLD released a statement on October 19 outlining how Shwe Aung Tha village was considered part of Lei Chan village tract in Chin State’s Mindat Township in the 2015 election. The current National League for Democracy (NLD) administration has categorized the community as part of Htee Lin Township in Magwe Region, a designation that the CNLD rejects based on historical records of the area.…
The head of the Chin State health department said a COVID-19 ward is being built in the herbal medical hospital in Hakha town. Dr. Aung Ngwe San told Khonumthung News there are only five COVID-19 patients at Hakha Public Hospital, but if the caseload increases, they need somewhere else to send patients. SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 disease, has infected people across the country, including Chin State. To prevent outbreaks, Dr. Aung Ngwe San said everyone needs to follow the health guidelines set by the government’s Ministry of Health and Sports. A truck owner tested positive on October 19…
Citizens of southern Chin State, who are sequestered by fighting between Burma Army and Arakan Army (AA), are more concerned about having enough food rations than voting in the general election, which is less than three weeks away, aid workers told Khonumthung News. “People are running out of the rice in their hands,” said Zarni, who’s helping internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Paletwa Township. With rice stocks that were borrowed by the Burma Army already consumed, many don’t have much rice left. Meanwhile, the food convoy from Sami to Paletwa town has been delayed. State spokesperson and Municipal Affairs minister…
Civil society organizations (CSOs) in Kanpetlet town, Chin State, released a statement this week calling for a case to be opened against a police officer accused of raping a 17-year-old girl. The police officer from Myoma police station allegedly committed the rape on September 13. Kee Bu, who is working with the Khonumthung Regional Development Organization, said that the police station did not immediately bring charges against the officer in question, despite the fact that he was named by the victim as the perpetrator. “This is a child rape case. They didn’t immediately open the case. They tried to negotiate…
Seven ethnic Khumi Chin civil society organizations (CSOs) released a statement this week expressing concern about whether voting in Burma’s general election will take place in Paletwa Township on November 8. The October 14 statement said that clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army (AA) in southern Chin State could impact the chances of polling taking place in Paletwa. “Political parties and electoral candidates have not been able to launch their election campaigns and voter education campaigns because AA troops remain in Paletwa Township,” Saw Mya, spokesperson of the Khumi Affairs Coordination Committee, told Khonumthung News. “The Burma…
With the construction of Chin State’s Surbung Airport complete, the first flight test—with a landing—is scheduled for the last week in October. The Falam Township airport is the state’s first. “We have yet to open Surbung Airport. This time we will conduct the airport’s first flight landing test,” Chin State’s municipal minister and spokesperson Soe Htet said. “We had a flight flying over the airport in the last flight test; the airport didn’t land on the runway. This time the flight will test out the landing at the airport.” The landing test is scheduled for October 27. The fly-over test…
The Chin State government is planning to build a quarantine facility with a 100-person capacity in each of the state’s nine townships, a spokesperson for the administration said, after four truck drivers tested positive for COVID-19 in the state on Tuesday. Municipal minister Soe Htet said that for the time being, local authorities are carrying out medical checks at the entrances and exits of the state capital of Hakha, testing truck drivers and their assistants for COVID-19 since October 9. “Doctors and nurses test drivers at the checkpoints into Hakha town between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. and between 2:00 and…