Two protesters were shot and killed by regime troops during a demonstration on Saturday to welcome the anti-junta National Unity Government (NUG) in the Mandalay Region town of Mogok, according to local sources.
Around 100 soldiers and police arrived at the scene in Aung Chanthar ward and opened fire on the civilians present, eyewitnesses said.
“One [of the protesters] was shot in the head. Another was shot in the abdomen,” a local who was also at the demonstration told Myanmar Now.
The two casualties were believed to be in their 20s, locals said.
Police officers transported the bodies in a cart to an area near Chanthargyi pagoda, where the troops had set up a base. They then put the bodies in an ambulance which eyewitnesses said was headed toward the Mogok Public Hospital.
“They shot at people who attempted to pick up the bodies,” the protester at the scene said of the armed forces. “We weren’t able to get them,” he added.
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Police officers are seen transporting two bodies in a cart in Mogok on April 17 (CJ)
Two other protesters were injured after being shot in the leg and thigh, and were also apprehended and put in the ambulance by the troops, another local said.
Around 1,000 Mogok residents showed up to the rally at 11am to welcome the NUG government– the cabinet of which was announced by the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on Friday.
The violent crackdown began 45 minutes later.
In a video seen by Myanmar Now filmed by a local resident, a member of the armed forces is heard saying, ‘I want them dead. Do you hear me? Five of them.’ Another voice responded, ‘yes.’
The military’s information center had not released any information regarding the shootings in Mogok at the time of reporting, and had not responded to media inquiries.
At least 10 protesters have been killed in Mogok by the regime’s armed forces for participating in anti-dictatorship protests since the February 1 coup, yet demonstrations have continued daily.
Fighting between the military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has also recently broken out in Mogok, with the KIA launching an offensive against the junta’s troops. After news of the KIA attack, local youth expressed support for the Kachin army on social media.
News (2)
War between Kachin Independent Army and Myanmar military intensifies
Source : The Irrawaddy
Fighting broke out in multiple locations between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar military in Kachin State on Friday night and Saturday morning amid the regime’s moves to reinforce its troop presence in ethnic areas.
At around 7 p.m. on Friday, the KIA attacked military (or Tatmadaw) troops near the Hpung Ing-Woi Shi area in Kachin’s Sumprabum Township, in the northernmost part of the country.
“There were at least 30 soldiers from the Myanmar military on the Sumprabum-Myitkyina Highway. Five soldiers from the military side were killed and some were injured in the attack,” a KIA officer on the ground said.
However, the officer declined to reveal casualty figures for the KIA.
The KIA also attacked a Tatmadaw convoy in Hpakant Township as it was conducting a security check on Friday evening afternoon at around 1 p.m. The KIA said that it used mines against the convoy and one truck went up in flames, resulting in three regime troops being killed.
Early on Saturday morning, a clash broke out between the KIA and Tatmadaw at a security checkpoint jointly guarded by the military, police and immigration officers in Waimaw Township in the southeast of the Kachin capital.
The KIA said it arrested three soldiers during the clash. All the security guards ran away from the security outpost after the KIA launched an attack on the checkpoint, it said.
A resident of Waimaw told The Irrawaddy the fighting lasted from 5 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. after a military column approached a village where a KIA base is located.
The KIA instructed villagers around the area to stay at home until next Tuesday and not to go outside even to tend their farms and fields, the resident said.
“After the KIA retreated from the checkpoint, Myanmar soldiers returned. Now, they are conducting intensive security checks on all civilians,” the resident added.
Military tensions have risen since late March, when the KIA seized from the Tatmadaw a strategic base in Alaw Bum near the Chinese border. The military launched several airstrikes to try and recapture the base from the KIA. However, the KIA still occupies the base and nearly 100 Myanmar military troops including a battalion commander have been killed during heavy fighting.
Clashes were also reported in Manton Township, northern Shan State on April 15. Fighting has intensified across Kachin State and northern Shan State since March 11, following the KIA’s refusal to recognize the military regime.
The regime has been reinforcing its troops in Kachin and Shan states after the armed group warned of a resumption in fighting if the Tatmadaw did not stop killing peaceful anti-coup protesters in the country.
News (3)
Journalists arrested in Kachin State
Source : The Irrawaddy
In the latest sign that the Myanmar regime is intensifying its crackdown on journalists, three reporters from a local newspaper were detained by the military this week and are being kept at a military interrogation center in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.
Male journalists Ah Je, 22, and Christopher, 23, were arrested by the military on April 13 and female journalist Ma Myo Myat Myat Pan, 22, was arrested by the military after a house raid on April 14. All three work for the Myitkyina Journal, a local independent weekly that has been tirelessly covering the regime’s crackdown on protesters in the state since the Feb. 1 coup.
“Since their arrests by the regime, they have been at the military interrogation center. It has been four days. They are not allowed to meet family members. I am worried they are being tortured by the military,” Seng Mai, the editor-in-chief of the Myitkyina Journal, told The Irrawaddy.
According to Seng Mai, the military arrested Christopher first while he was on his way home on April 13. Later, he was beaten by soldiers and forced to call Ah Je and tell him to come to the same location. At 6:30 p.m. on April 14, police and soldiers arrested Ma Myo Myat Myat Pan at her home. They also seized a laptop and documents.
“We are doing our job. They were the most hardworking. They always stayed on the frontline and witnessed almost all of the military’s crackdowns on anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina,” Seng Mai said.
“I am worried that they face a life-threatening situation in the detention center,” Seng Mai added.
Two journalists from Myitkyina-based Kachinwave and 74 Media were arrested in the town on March 29 while covering a crackdown on anti-regime protesters. Later, they were sued by the regime under Article 505(a) of Myanmar’s Penal Code. Under the broad new provision adopted by the junta, anyone who makes comments that “cause fear,” or who spreads “false news” or “agitates directly or indirectly a criminal offense against a government employee,” faces up to three years in prison.
Since the military takeover, the regime has targeted journalists in an effort to suppress coverage of its lethal crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters. Following the coup, the junta revoked the licenses of Myanmar Now, 7Day News, Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and Khit Thit Media, and raided some media offices. Almost all journalists in the country are now working in hiding.
According to the United Nations, at least 71 journalists have been arrested by the military since the Feb. 1 coup, with more than half of them still detained. At least 23 journalists have been sued by the military under various charges, mostly Article 505(a).
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