Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
An estimated 10,000 people, including about 4,000 Rohingyas, in Bangladesh’s Bandarban district on Myanmar’s border, are in fear of Myanmar junta fighter jets, drones, mortars and machine guns fire.
The deadly bombardment on 16 September led the Bangladesh foreign ministry to summon Myanmar’s envoy Aung Kyaw Moe on Sunday (18 September 2022).
It was the fourth time since 21 August 2022 that the ambassador had been summoned to the foreign ministry in protest against border incursions.
The ministry stated on 18 September 2022, “Bangladesh lodged a strong protest with Myanmar over the intrusion of mortar shells, aerial firing and airspace violations from Myanmar causing death and injury to people inside Bangladesh territory.”
It handed a protest note to the ambassador who reportedly acknowledged the firing of mortars but claimed they were fired by rebel groups fighting the regime near the border. The rebel Arakan Army rejected the accusation and condemned the shelling.
“The envoy was told that the government of Myanmar was responsible for maintaining security inside Myanmar as well as for ensuring that no violation of the border and airspace with neighboring Bangladesh took place,” the ministry said.
Bangladesh reiterated its zero-tolerance approach to terrorism and the harbouring of any elements hostile to its neighbours’ security.
It demanded Myanmar stop reckless “military action near the border and ensure that no ammunition from Myanmar falls inside the Bangladesh territory”.
“The envoy was reminded that the situation was detrimental to kickstarting the repatriation process of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds,” the ministry announced.
Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the issue would be handled diplomatically, maybe through the United Nations.
The UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis told The Irrawaddy on Monday that her office was concerned, reporting one death and several injuries.
“The lives of civilians must be protected and the UN is calling for calm to avoid any further injury or escalation,” Lewis said. “The UN security teams are monitoring the situation closely.”
A Rohingya camp leader Dil Mohammad, who crossed the border during the 2017 Rakhine State crackdown, said shells were heard from the camp on Sunday.
He said camp residents feared for their safety.
Hamida Begum, 40, a Bangladeshi border resident, told The Irrawaddy that she abandoned her house after a shell landed on August 28.
She said her male relatives were too scared to go out to work.
Last week Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she did not want war with Bangladesh’s neighbours.
On 3 September 2022, junta aircraft fired at least twice into Bangladesh five days after Myanmar’s envoy was summoned in protest over a similar incident on 28 August 2022.
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A 18-year-old Rohingya man was killed and at least six more people injured Friday when mortar shells fired from Myanmar landed inside Bangladesh, officials and Rohingya sources said.
Some one million mostly Muslim Rohingya refugees live in dozens of camps in Bangladesh’s southeastern border district of Cox’s Bazar, after vast numbers fled a crackdown by the military of Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2017.
At the same time, across the border in Rakhine state, the Myanmar military regularly clashes with the Arakan Army, which has for years fought a war for autonomy for the area’s ethnic Rakhine population.
Dil Mohammad, the leader of a Rohingya group living on the border at Tumbru, said the 18-year-old man was killed when mortar shells fired from Myanmar hit the area late Friday, sowing panic among the refugees.
Lieutenant-General Faizur Rahman, head of operations of the Border Guards Bangladesh, told AFP that a Rohingya was killed in the shelling.
His troops had secured the frontier and strong protests would be lodged with Myanmar, he added.
A senior Bangladeshi civilian official said at least six more people had been injured at Konapara, a border village inside Bangladesh.
It is the latest in a series of incidents where shells have exploded in Bangladesh, but the first to cause a fatality.
Earlier this month, Dhaka expressed “deep concern over falling mortar shells inside Bangladesh territory, indiscriminate aerial firing from Myanmar in the bordering areas, and air space violation from Myanmar”.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry has summoned Myanmar’s envoy in Dhaka three times in recent weeks to convey the country’s “grave concerns” over the mortar shells.
Dhaka hopes that repatriation of the Rohingya will start later this year but experts say the clashes between the Myanmar military and rebels mean the conditions do not exist for the Rohingya to agree to return to their villages.
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Bangladesh Prime Minister opts to avoid war with neighbours
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that her government does not want war with Bangladesh's neighbours amid repeated violations of the international border and airspace by Myanmar Junta forces in recent weeks.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Ministry summoned Myanmar’s envoy in Dhaka three times and expressed deep concern over mortar shells falling on its territory, indiscriminate aerial firing and airspace violations.
Hasina was asked what assurances she received from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her September 5-8 visit to India.
She said the Indian government stressed that the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis had to be addressed.
“It’s true we have sheltered them on humanitarian grounds but, the way it is going, it is becoming a burden. They are humans and we cannot throw them out,” Hasina told the press conference.
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Trafficking rife in Rohingya camps
Rohingyas refugees deplete natural resources and forests and organize drug and weapons trafficking. Hasina said, “We are trying to maintain law and order as much as possible.”
Abduction, killing, rape, shootings, drug dealing and other crimes are rife at the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar district where over 1 million refugees are sheltered.
Cox’s Bazar police reported that 2,363 cases were filed against 4,979 Rohingyas between August 2017 and July 2022.
Of the cases, 1,601 were filed against 2,207 people for drug possession while 95 murder cases were filed against 431 suspects, 84 rape or attempted rape allegations against 124 people and there were 39 cases filed against 191 people on charges of abduction.
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Drug abuse and firearms among Rohingya are problems for Bangladesh police
The Bangladesh police in Cox's Bazar said by August 2022 they had arrested 1,846 people for 1,470 cases involving the seizure of at least 14 million yaba or methamphetamine tablets.
In five years, at least 386 people were arrested in 190 arms-related cases while 239 firearms, 996 bullets and 12 magazines were seized.
“India always thinks that the Rohingya crisis should be resolved … We sought their assistance and got a positive response. But the problem is with the Myanmar government. It does not care about any pressure. And it is also having its internal fighting. That’s a big problem.”
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Over 100 Myanmar regime troops defect to the Arakan Army in western Myanmar
More than 100 Myanmar military soldiers including officers have defected to the Arakan Army (AA), both before and after renewed fighting erupted between the two sides in Rakhine State, said the AA’s spokesperson.
Some 10 Myanmar Junta soldiers, including officers, fighting at the front line in Chin State’s Paletwa Township, which neighbors Rakhine State in western Myanmar, have defected to the AA since the return to armed conflict, said the AA spokesman.
“At least 10 [junta soldiers] including officers in Paletwa have defected along with their arms since the renewed fighting. There were also defections even before the fighting,” said AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha during a press conference on Monday.
Another 90-odd junta troops defected to the AA in Rakhine State before fighting resumed in May. More regime soldiers are expected to defect to the AA, added Khaing Thukha.
Military tensions have been running high in Rakhine State since May with regime forces arresting Rakhine residents on suspicion of having ties to the AA, a powerful ethnic Rakhine armed organization.
A number of junta bases, including the Myeik Wa outpost near the border of Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, are under siege from the AA, which is also ambushing convoys of reinforcements and supplies to regime bases. Junta forces have launched air and artillery strikes as the regime attempts to retake bases it has lost and defend the ones it still holds, said the AA.
Numerous junta outposts along the border have been seized by the AA. On 31 August 2022, the AA captured a border guard police base at mile post No. 40 on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in Maungdaw Township, as well as seizing a hilltop outpost on 10 September.
The AA has also captured a hilltop tactical command base in Paletwa after a three month siege, added the AA. The base near Than Htaung Village overlooks the Lemyo River, a crucial transportation route that links Mrauk-U and Minbya in Rakhine with Chin State.
“For now we are gaining the upper hand, but the regime is reinforcing continuously. Clashes are likely to intensify in the weeks to come,” said AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha, who estimated that between 9,000 and 10,000 junta troops are now deployed in Maungdaw.
Over 30 junta soldiers have been killed in recent clashes and a number of weapons were captured, according to the AA. The Irrawaddy could not verify junta casualties independently or obtain a comment from the regime.
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National Unity Government of Myanmar controls over half of Myanmar's territory
Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has said that its People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and allied ethnic revolutionary organizations (ERO)) have effective control of more than half the country after a year of waging a people’s defensive war against the military regime.
In a speech on Wednesday marking the one-year anniversary of the declaration of a people’s defensive war against the junta, the NUG’s acting president Duwa Lashi La said that the regime has lost control of at least half the country, as the territorial dominance and military capabilities of PDFs and EROs has significantly strengthened and improved.
The acting president said that the NUG has formed over 300 PDF battalions nationwide, while other township public defense forces have been formed in 250 townships out of 330 across the country over the last year.
Public administration and judicial systems of the NUG have been established in 24 townships which are completely controlled by resistance forces. Education, health, municipal and social services have also been established by the NUG in the townships, the president said.
“Amid our territorial dominance and as our military capabilities have strengthened, the operations, territorial control and public administration of our partner EROs have significantly improved,” said Duwa Lashi La.
He added: “After one year of defensive war, the fascist terrorist military council no longer control half of the country’s territory.”
On Monday (5 September 2022), the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), an independent group of prominent former United Nations (UN) human rights experts, said that their analysis has found that the NUG and resistance organizations have effective control over 52 per cent of Myanmar’s territory.
SAC-M said also that the Myanmar military can only claim to have stable control over 17 per cent of the country, as its rule is being actively contested elsewhere.
About NUG's leader Duwa Lashi La: https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/profile/acting-president-of-myanmars-civilian-govt-wins-hearts-of-the-people.html
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Myanmar Junta unable to rule and control its soldiers from committing war crimes, NUG to hold the regime accountable
The group noted also that the regime is unable to govern and is reduced to being an occupying military force in a diminishing amount of territory.
Meanwhile, resistance organizations including the NUG, EROs, people’s administrative bodies, the Civil Disobedience Movement and other civil institutions are administering an increasing range of government functions and delivering services to millions of people.
“The world needs to wake up to the reality that a new Myanmar is already taking shape,” said SAC-M member Yanghee Lee, the former UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar.
She added, “The NUG is not a shadow government or government in exile. It is the representative of the people’s revolution and resistance to military junta, the combined forces of which control the majority of the country.”
Since the declaration of the defensive war against the junta last 7 September 2021, PDFs and EROs have escalated their attacks targeting junta forces and regime administrations across the country, including major cities.
Over 20,150 Junta soldiers have been killed and another 7,000 wounded, while 1,500 resistance fighters have died in the clashes, said Duwa Lashi La. An increasing number of regime troops are also defecting.
Amid daily attacks from PDFs and EROs, the regime has stepped up its atrocities including the arbitrary torture and killing of civilians, massacres and burning people alive, extrajudicial killings of resistance detainees, using civilians as human shields, air and artillery strikes on residential areas, looting and burning houses, and acts of sexual violence.
As of 6 September 2022, 2,267 people have been killed by the Myanmar Junta and 15,416 people including democratically-elected government leaders have been arrested or detained since last year’s coup, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Acting president Duwa Lashi La said that one of the NUG’s most important tasks is to hold the regime accountable for all the war crimes it has committed.
“The terrorist group must be punished for their crimes. We will definitely deliver truth and justice,” he said.
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NUG urges international support to the Myanmar people fighting for freedom, democracy and equality, cut off military and financial support to Myanmar Junta
He also urged the international community and organizations to provide the necessary technical, military, financial and humanitarian support to the Myanmar people fighting for their freedom, democracy and equal rights.
Duwa Lashi La also urged the international community to cut off military and financial support to the Myanmar Junta.
News (10) to (13) / Reports by : Hein Htoo Zan
News (10)
Myanmar resistance rejects Junta child murder claims
Myanmar’s Junta says its attack on a monastic school that left 11 children dead in Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region, on Friday was in response to an insurgent strike while resistance groups say it was child murder.
Bo Kyar Gyi, the leader of Bo Kyar Gyi People’s Defense Forces (PDF), formerly known as Galon PDF, said: “If they kill us I can accept it since we are fighting them. But they have murdered children at a school. It is unacceptable.”
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Junta forces killed the children and teachers
Two regime Mi-35 helicopters attacked the school in Let Yet Kone village on Friday (16 September 2022) and seven children were killed immediately while 17 others, including three teachers and 14 children, were injured. Two more children died when ground troops raided the village. Regime forces took the seven bodies and the injured to a traditional medicine hospital in neighboring Ye-U Township. Two more later died.
The Junta’s Ministry of Information stated that the troops had launched an operation against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and resistance groups in the village. It said resistance fighters and National League for Democracy “extremists” were hiding in the monastery before the attack.
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No KIA troops in Tabayin
Bo Kyar Gyi told The Irrawaddy that there were no KIA nor resistance troops based in the area.
Resistance troops were guarding the school when the two Mi-35s attacked and three were killed in the airstrike, according to Tabayin resistance groups.
Approximately 80 troops were when dropped into the village from four transport helicopters and surrounded the school.
The Junta claimed the KIA and resistance groups were using residents as human shields.
“They killed the children on the spot and arrested others with their teachers as hostages. Then they left for Ye U,” Bo Kyar Gyi said.
The incident has sent shockwaves around other monastic and community-funded schools in Sagaing and Magwe regions where the conflict with the Junta is heavy.
Ma Tresa, a member of the Myaung Education Network which has established self-funded schools with the community in the township, said the Tabayin incident had shocked the region and raised questions about how to keep children safe.
News (13)
NUG condemns Tabayin attack
The civilian National Unity Government’s Ministry of Women, Youth and Children Affairs, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Human Rights on Sunday condemned the targeted attack and called it an inhumane and brutal war crime. It said it has been documenting the junta’s serious human rights violations, including Friday’s attack in Tabayin to bring justice.
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Report by : Yan Naing
Despite the efforts of Myanmar’s military regime to expedite the development of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (KPSEZ) and deep sea port in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the project is facing significant delays due to local protests and the impact of last year’s coup.
Spanning 4,300 acres, the KPSEZ and the 643-acre port are considered to be the backbone of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), part of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, "One Belt, One Road" initiative).
The project is vital to CCP China’s interests, as it will provide the country with direct access to the Indian Ocean, so allowing CCP's maritime traffic to bypass the congested Strait of Malacca. Beijing hopes also to use the CMEC to boost development in landlocked Yunnan Province, which borders Myanmar.
China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) inked a framework agreement with the KPSEZ Management Committee in November 2018 for the development of the SEZ. That was followed by the signing of an agreement for the construction of a deep sea port during the January 2020 visit of CCP’s President Xi Jinping to Myanmar.
Under the deal, the state-owned CITIC owns 70 per cent of the development, with the Myanmar-owned KPSEZ Deep Seaport Co. Ltd holding the remaining 30 per cent.
However since the agreement was signed, Myanmar has been hurled into turmoil by last year’s coup.
At the same time, overall progress on the development has been hampered by issues mostly linked to the concerns of locals over the project.
While there has been no development as yet of the KPSEZ, the regime-controlled agencies are working to seize 250 acres of land in the proposed industrial zone. The land belongs to more than 70 local farmers from four village tracts, and many of them are opposed to the compulsory acquisition of their land.
A few of the farmers have alleged that dubious legal documents purporting to show that their land is held by other owners are being used to try and seize their land.
Previously, there were reports of many land disputes over the Shwe gas field and pipeline project in Kyaukphyu Township, with locals protesting against the companies involved.
Kyaukphyu residents are also aware of the problems with other China-backed projects in Myanmar, which has added to their hostility towards the KPSEZ and deep sea port development.
Local fisher folk have seen their livelihoods endangered by the Shwe gas field and pipeline, which saw no-fishing zones created and resulted in a scarcity of fish. The situation is most severe on Maday Island, where oil and gas is stored and the movement of tankers prevents fishing.
Nor has the gas field and pipeline created alternative jobs for locals. Residents were promised employment by the companies involved, but they now allege that they are not even allowed to walk past the oil and gas terminals.
Some four villages on Maday lsland, with more than 760 households and 3,000 residents, will be affected by the development of the KPSEZ and deep sea port. Most of the households are dependent on fishing grounds where the deep sea port is set to be constructed.
Part of the port will also be built on Ramree Island, where local fisher folk will also be affected, so around 4,000 families will be impacted by the project.
CITIC has claimed that it is coordinating with local business people to provide new employment opportunities for the local population but, so far, nothing tangible has happened.
While the military regime is working to address operational issues, including the indifferent approach of CITIC after securing the rights to develop the zone and the port, it also needs to take into account the concerns of local people.
China-backed projects can only be beneficial for Myanmar if they add economic and social value to the people of Myanmar.
News (15) to (17) / Source : Myanmar Now / https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/beyond-the-headlines-bangladesh-demands-junta-cease-shelling-on-its-border-and-international
Amid escalating tension between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military in Rakhine State, the government of neighbouring Bangladesh has said it will inform the UN if Myanmar does not cease its fire of weaponry near the country’s border, according to a September 17 report in the Dhaka Tribune. Citing the Bangladeshi home affairs minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the report said that Bangladesh had repeatedly warned Myanmar about such border violations through the foreign affairs ministry but that the concerns had been ignored.
Amid recent Myanmar army shelling in the area, at least 10 Rohingya people had recently fled to two refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: Kutupalong and Balukhali, the Dhaka Tribune said. The report stated that six Rohingya people were injured and one killed in explosions caused by shells fired on 17 September 2022. As of 18 September 2022, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry had reportedly summoned Myanmar junta-appointed ambassador Aung Kyaw Moe four times to discuss the issue, but a meeting had yet to take place.
News (16)
High defection rate of new Junta police officers to resistance forces
A leaked copy of an August speech by the Myanmar junta’s police chief revealed that between 20 and 26 members of the police had been killed monthly since the February 2021 coup. The document seen by Myanmar Now is part of a detailed transcript of Maj-Gen Zin Min Htet’s speech, which was delivered in the police’s Naypyitaw headquarters.
Maj-Gen Zin Min Htet said that a total of 360 police had been killed as of July and that it had been difficult to recruit and retain new officers. In 2022, the police force had brought on 1,740 new members, but 849 had left their jobs halfway through the year.
Desertion was a major contributor to the loss of personnel, the police chief—who is also deputy minister of home affairs—explained, with 238 police joining the resistance in June and July alone. A total of 1,142 police members had also been injured since the coup, he added.
News (17)
More than 6000 Junta police officers have defected to NUG
According to the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), more than 6,000 members of the junta’s police have defected since the coup, half of whom have had contact with the NUG’s own home affairs ministry.
News (18)
Commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet: If China blocks Taiwan, the international may intervene
Image : Thomas, commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, said that if China tries to block Taiwan, the international community may intervene. The picture shows the U.S. Aegis ship USS Bamford passing through the Taiwan Strait (taken from the website of the U.S. Seventh Fleet).
In an exclusive interview published by the Wall Street Journal on the 19th, Karl Thomas said that CCP China has "completely militarized" many islands in the South China Sea with sovereignty disputes. Under threats, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Nancy Pelosi) took a special plane from Kuala Lumpur to Taiwan on 2 August 2022, the route was considered by "high-level" and decided to avoid the South China Sea to avoid misjudgment.
After Pelosi's visit to Taiwan ended on 3 August 2022, China began holding live-fire military exercises around Taiwan in an attempt to demonstrate its ability to block Taiwan. Some military experts believe that Beijing lacks the ability to fully invade Taiwan in the short term. Once a crisis occurs in the Taiwan Strait, China may try to besiege rather than destroy Taiwan.
According to the Taiwan Relations Act enacted by the United States in 1979, any attempt to determine Taiwan's future in a non-peaceful manner will be regarded as a threat to peace and stability in the Western Pacific region, and is of serious concern to the United States. There will be economic boycotts and embargoes.
Washington has pursued "strategic ambiguity" for decades and does not indicate whether it will directly intervene in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait but since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January last year, he has repeatedly stated publicly that if the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the CCP China invades Taiwan, the United States will assist Taiwan in self-defense. In the program "60 Minutes" broadcast by CBS on the 18th, Biden once again made it clear that if an "unprecedented attack" occurs, the U.S. military will intervene to defend Taiwan. White House officials reiterated afterwards that the U.S. policy toward Taiwan will remain unchanged.
Thomas was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal before Biden made the above remarks. He said that he did not know whether China would choose to invade or block Taiwan. In any case, his duty was to be fully prepared and hoped that China would resolve cross-strait differences peacefully.
Thomas said the CCP navy is very large, "if they want to bully and surround Taiwan with ships, they can do it."
He said that if CCP imposed a blockade on Taiwan rather than a full-scale attack involving lethal force, the international community could step in and work together to find a solution to the challenge.
In early August, despite CCP's opposition to visiting Taiwan, Pelosi chose to take a detour on a special U.S. plane from Malaysia to Taiwan and did not fly over the South China Sea. Asked why, Thomas replied that it was a "high-level" decision, because Beijing had warned Pelosi of the consequences if she visited Taiwan, and U.S. officials were unclear about how China would respond.
After Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, PLA conducted military exercises around Taiwan for several days, and launched missiles that flew over the island of Taiwan and landed in the eastern waters. Thomas criticized PLA for launching the missiles as "irresponsible", and described Beijing's constant push to test the other side's reaction in Chinese "cannibalization".
Thomas believes that China's recent actions around Taiwan are an extension of the "might is right" mentality of militarizing the South China Sea.
According to the report, the scale of the Chinese navy is arrogant in the world but the U.S. military has more advanced ships and a larger aircraft carrier fleet, which has an advantage in terms of quality. Thomas said that the speed of China's production of naval ships is impressive, and the Type 055 missile destroyer is an example; the United States is obviously not as fast as China because of the shortage of shipyards.
The ability of the various services to coordinate operations has always been considered a potential weakness of the PLA but Thomas said that China has made progress in this regard. Four years ago, only navy aircraft flew at sea. Now air force aircraft have also gone to sea, and joint combat capabilities have been continuously improved.
Ref: https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/4063533
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