Wednesday, November 15, 2023

UN says more than 200,000 people displaced in recent Myanmar fighting

AFP
Wed, November 15, 2023

More than 200,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Myanmar after an alliance of ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the military last month, the United Nations said
(STR)


More than 200,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Myanmar after an alliance of ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the military last month, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

Fighting has raged since October 27 across northern Shan state near the Chinese border after the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA) launched attacks on the military.

The alliance has blocked vital trade routes to China and seized a border hub in what analysts say is the biggest military challenge to the junta since it seized power in 2021.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said that as of Wednesday, "more than 200,000 people" across Shan, Chin, Kayah and Mon states and Sagaing region have been "forcibly displaced due to the fighting".

At least 75 civilians including children have been killed and 94 people wounded in the fighting, UNOCHA said, citing initial reports from the field.

Both sides have set up checkpoints on roads they control in Shan state and mobile communication remains patchy outside the main city of Lashio, hampering the delivery of aid, the UN said.

The junta has imposed martial law on several townships in the state, further hampering relief efforts, it added.

The remoteness of the rugged, jungle-clad region -- home to pipelines that supply oil and gas to China -- and patchy communications make it difficult to verify casualty numbers.

The junta has admitted it has lost ground but dismissed claims by the alliance to have seized towns across northern Shan state as "propaganda".

This week the AA launched fresh attacks on the military in western Rakhine state, shattering a fragile ceasefire that had held in the state.

In Kayah state on the Thai border, anti-junta fighters said they were battling the military near state capital Loikaw.

- 'The ground shaking' -


A car mechanic told AFP he had spent days on the road after fleeing the town of Laukkai near the China border as MNDAA fighters closed in.

"I have no experience like this in my life," the 31-year-old said by phone from Mongyang in Shan state, where he said he and hundreds of others were sheltering after escaping.

"We heard the sound of artillery as we queued to get out of that place. On the night of November 7 or 8 there were airstrikes, we even felt the ground shaking."

Myanmar's borderlands are home to more than a dozen ethnic armed groups, some of which have fought the military for decades over autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

Some have trained and equipped newer "People's Defence Forces" that have sprung up since the coup to fight the military's 2021 coup and its bloody crackdown on dissent.

bur-rma/pdw/mca

ASEAN defense chiefs call for the fighting in Gaza to cease but struggle to address Myanmar violence

NINIEK KARMINI and EDNA TARIGAN
Updated Wed, November 15, 2023 


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Indonesia ASEAN
From left, Brunei's Second Minister of Defense Halbi Mohd Yusof, Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Seiha, Laos' Defense Minister Chansamone Chanyalath, Malaysia's Defense Minister Mohamad Hasan, Philippine's Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Indonesia's Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen, Thailand's Defense Minister Sutin Klungsang, Vietnam's Defense Minister Phan Van Giang, East Timor's Defense Minister Donaciano Do Rosario Da Costa Gomes and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn hold hands as they pose for a family photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. 
(Mast Irham/Pool Photo via AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian defense ministers called Wednesday for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and for the world to collaborate on setting up humanitarian aid corridors in Gaza, but they struggled on how to address the prolonged civil strife in Myanmar.

Defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations meeting in Jakarta also reiterated the significance of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and respecting international rules to prevent maritime clashes in the disputed waters.

The 10-nation ASEAN includes Myanmar, but its defense minister was again barred from attending this week’s meetings due to the military government’s failure to comply with a five-point peace plan drafted to ease the violence.

“We are saddened with a deteriorating situation in Myanmar,” Indonesia's Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said in an opening speech. “Indonesia encourages other ASEAN member states to support Myanmar to find a peaceful and durable solution to the current situation.”

ASEAN has been trying to enforce the plan it forged with Myanmar’s top general in 2021, which calls for an immediate end to the violence, the start of talks brokered by a special envoy among contending parties, and the delivery of aid to displaced people. But Myanmar’s military government, which seized power in 2022, has done little to enforce the plan.

A joint declaration also called on the parties in a decadeslong territorial dispute in the South China Sea involving China and rival claimants from Southeast Asia to agree to an early conclusion of negotiations for a nonaggression pact.

The defense ministers on Thursday will be meeting with ASEAN's eight dialog partners, where the territorial disputes are expected to be raised.

Subianto in his speech also touched on the Israel-Hamas war. “Indonesia is deeply saddened by the deteriorating situation in Gaza, particularly the horrid humanitarian conditions,” he said, adding violence against civilians “must stop.”

“Conversely, efforts to achieve a cease-fire must continue and the safe passage of humanitarian aid must be wide and accelerated," he said.

ASEAN has not made a formal statement about the war, which is not surprising given each member of the bloc sees the conflict differently.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei — the three ASEAN members with Muslim-majority populations where religion is significant in domestic politics — have long been strong supporters of the Palestinians. None of them has diplomatic relations with Israel.

Malaysia's Defense Minister Mohammad Hasan condemned the bombings of civilians, homes and hospitals in Gaza and “the consequential massacre of innocent lives, children, women and men.”

Singapore took a firm position against Hamas and strongly condemned the attacks the militant group launched inside Israel on Oct. 7, starting the war. Singapore has close defense relations with Israel, and its strong stance against Hamas leaves it out of step with its larger Muslim-majority neighbors.

“The more important lesson for us is that peace can be stolen or lost very quickly,” said Ng Eng Hen, Singapore's defense minister. "While we are now a relative area of peace and security, we can lose it if we as leaders in our nations do not pay attention to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East and Asia.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu were set to join the meetings, but there is little likelihood of a talk between them.

Subianto separately hosted talks between ASEAN and the U.S. and Japan, and said that the bloc and Tokyo agreed to bolster their defense ties and cooperation in military technology.

Austin made earlier stops in Asia aimed at showing unity over Russia’s war in Ukraine and preventing differences on the Israel-Hamas war from deepening. He also met with South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and others in Seoul to discuss boosting nuclear deterrence against North Korea.

China is represented at the meetings by Jing Jianfeng, the deputy chief of staff of China’s Central Military Commission, but it is unlikely he will meet with Austin on the meeting sidelines. China's previous defense minister, Li Shangfu, was ousted last month, and Beijing has not named his successor.

Military contacts between the U.S. and China were largely severed after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022, prompting China’s military to hold unprecedented exercises near the self-governed island.

An ethnic resistance group in northern Myanmar says an entire army battalion has surrendered to it

GRANT PECK
Updated Wed, November 15, 2023 

In this photo provided by The Kokang online media, officers of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army ethnic armed organizations speak to the soldiers of the army battalion and their family members who surrendered to them two days earlier, in Kokang Self-Administered Zone in Myanmar's northern Shan state, Tuesday Nov. 14, 2023. 
(The Kokang online media via AP) 

BANGKOK (AP) — A Myanmar army battalion based near the Chinese border surrendered to an alliance of ethnic armed groups that launched a surprise offensive last month against the military, a spokesperson for one of the groups said Wednesday.

The surrender on Sunday of 261 people — 127 soldiers and 134 family members — from the infantry battalion in northeastern Shan state appears to be the biggest by regular army forces since widespread armed conflict in Myanmar broke out in 2021 following the military's seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February that year.

The alliance expects to soon capture Laukkaing, the area’s major city, the spokesperson said.

The surrender — which has not been announced by the military government and could not be independently confirmed by The Associated Press — came two weeks after the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, calling themselves the Three Brotherhood Alliance, launched a coordinated offensive on Oct. 27.

The alliance has claimed widespread victories, and the military government made a rare acknowledgement on Nov. 2 that it had lost control of three towns. One is a major border crossing for trade with China.

The offensive in the northern part of Shan state was seen as a significant challenge for the army, which has struggled to contain a nationwide uprising by members of the Peoples’ Defense Force, a pro-democracy armed group established after the 2021 army takeover. The various PDF groups that operate around the country have joined forces with well-organized, battle-hardened ethnic armed groups — including those in the Three Brotherhood Alliance — that have been fighting Myanmar’s central government for greater autonomy for decades.

The military government faced another challenge on Monday when the Arakan Army launched surprise attacks on military targets in five townships in Myanmar's western Rakhine state. A yearlong cease fire had previously been declared in the state between the military government and the Arakan Army.

The U.N. humanitarian office in a situation report on Wednesday said in addition to the attacks in Rakhine, fighting has spread to areas in Myanmar's northwest and southeast. It said there was active combat in Loikaw, the capital of the eastern state of Kayah, which resistance forces are trying to seize. The U.N agency said the city has been bombed by the military, causing civilian casualties.

“In northern Shan alone, fighting continues to rage in at least 10 townships, leading to a surge in civilian casualties, with 43 fatalities and 71 injuries reported,” it said, adding that the number of new internally displaced people since the recent fighting began has climbed to 60,000.

Le Kyar Wai, a spokesperson for the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, told the AP that each soldier who surrendered in Shan state, including the commander, was awarded 1 million kyat (about $480) and family members were each given 100,000 kyat ($48).

“We give medical treatment to the injured. We delivered them safely to their desired destination,” Le Kyar Wai said, adding that the alliance groups planned to launch an operation soon to seize Laukkaing after they surrounded the city.

Laukkaing is known for hosting major organized criminal enterprises including cyberscam operations controlled by Chinese investors in cooperation with local Myanmar warlords.

The Chinese government in recent weeks has pushed a crackdown on these operations, and thousands of people involved have been repatriated to China. Many employed were tricked into working and then held against their will.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance has announced that a goal of its Oct. 27 offensive was to crack down on the scam operations. Le Kyar Wai said the alliance would rescue those held by the scam centers, arrest the people behind the operations and transfer them to relevant authorities.

The soldiers who surrendered were not the first to lay down their weapons to the alliance groups in Shan state. On Oct. 30, 41 soldiers from another infantry battalion based in nearby Kunlong township surrendered.

Since the offensive began last month, soldiers and police have also surrendered in Karen, Kayah, Rakhine and Chin states and Sagaing region, according to ethnic armed groups and independent local media.


Myanmar rebels says dozens of junta forces surrender, captured

Reuters
Tue, November 14, 2023 



A flag of one of the Myanmar rebel forces is installed next to an under-construction structure in Myanmar's Khawmawi village on the India-Myanmar border as seen from Zokhawthar village


(Reuters) - Dozens of members of the Myanmar security forces have surrendered or been captured, a rebel group said on Wednesday, as a coordinated offensive by insurgent groups battling the junta gathers pace in several parts of the country.

At least 28 policemen gave up their weapons and surrendered to the Arakan Army (AA), while 10 soldiers were arrested, said the group which is fighting for autonomy in Rakhine State in western Myanmar.

Reuters could not independently verify the information from the AA, which is one of three ethnic minority insurgent groups that launched a coordinated offensive against junta forces in late October.

A curfew has been imposed in the Rakhine State capital Sittwe, where military tanks have been sighted, the administration there said.

The rebels have captured some towns and military posts, including on the border with China, presenting the junta with its biggest test since the military took power in a 2021 coup, ousting an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

A junta spokesperson, Zaw Min Tun, on Tuesday accused the rebel groups of "destroying the whole country" and said reports of captured military posts were "propaganda".

"The enemies retreated after they lost soldiers. We are trying to combine small posts strategically," he said.

The spokesperson said fighting was going on in Shan, Rakhine and Kayah states. He did not comment on reports of junta forces surrendering.

Fighting has also been reported in Chin State in the northwest, where 43 Myanmar soldiers crossed into the Indian state of Mizoram after a rebel attack, a police official in Mizoram said.

Most of the Myanmar soldiers were flown by Indian forces to another point on the border and handed back to Myanmar authorities, said an Indian security official who declined to be identified.

Myanmar's military-appointed president last week said the country was at risk of breaking apart because of an ineffective response to the rebellion by fighters the generals denounce as "terrorists".

The military has for decades said it is the only institution capable of holding diverse Myanmar together. Critics of military rule dismiss that and call instead for a democratic, federal system.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Robert Birsel)


China demands border security guarantee from Myanmar junta as rebels gain ground

South China Morning Post
Tue, November 14, 2023 

Myanmar must guarantee the safety and stability of its border with China, Beijing stressed on Tuesday, as the Naypyidaw junta lost ground to rebel groups in the country's north.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning repeated China's "high concerns" over the conflicts in northern Myanmar.

"We urge the relevant parties in Myanmar to cease fighting as soon as possible," Mao said in Beijing.

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All parties should resolve differences peacefully through dialogue and consultation, she said.

"We also urge the Myanmar side to take practical and effective measures to ensure security and stability along the China-Myanmar border," Mao said.

An alliance of three ethnic armed forces in Myanmar's Shan State bordering China's Yunnan province has launched offensives against the junta troops in the region, claiming "significant wins" in the past few days.

Since the conflict broke out on October 27, China has repeatedly asked for a ceasefire and assurance of border security. The Chinese embassy in Myanmar has also warned Chinese citizens to avoid travelling to conflict areas.

Beijing has pressured both the junta government in Naypyidaw and the self-ruled ethnic authorities of the border areas to crack down on criminal syndicates running massive telecoms scams, gambling, fraud, and human trafficking operations there.

Chinese police are also offering rewards of up to 500,000 yuan (US$68,500) for information leading to the arrest of several suspected syndicate heads in Shan state, some of whom also hold Chinese citizenship.

The rebel alliance says one of the objectives of its military operations is to eliminate "criminal syndicates protected by the junta".

Telecoms scams and online gambling were on the agenda late last month when Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong visited Myanmar and met General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the State Management Council of Myanmar.

Wang called for cooperation between the two countries' law enforcement and security authorities to combat the criminal activity.


Members of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army pose for a photograph in October with weapons allegedly seized from a Myanmar army outpost on a hill in Chinshwehaw town, Myanmar. Photo: The Kokang online media via AP alt=Members of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army pose for a photograph in October with weapons allegedly seized from a Myanmar army outpost on a hill in Chinshwehaw town, Myanmar. Photo: The Kokang online media via AP>

The general said his government would protect Chinese citizens and their property in Myanmar.

The Myanmar junta government is facing its toughest challenge since seizing power in a coup in 2021.

In addition to the conflict in Shan state, fighting erupted on two new fronts this week - in the western states of Rakhine and Chin, where the rebel troops are seeking to take control of the border with India.

Myanmar's military-appointed president, Myint Swe, said last Thursday the country was at risk of breaking apart due to the failure to deal with the insurgency more effectively.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.


South Korea says 19 citizens held captive in Myanmar rescued

Reuters
Mon, November 13, 2023

SEOUL (Reuters) - A group of 19 South Koreans have been rescued in Myanmar after being held captive at an unspecified illegal company in the Southeast Asian country, Seoul's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said it had sought the help of authorities in military ruled Myanmar after receiving a report last month that some of its nationals had been locked up in Tachileik in Shan state, near the border with Thailand.

"Myanmar police raided the company in late October and secured custody of 19 of our citizens," the ministry said in a statement, adding they were safely transferred to Yangon on Monday.


The ministry declined to elaborate on the nature of the operations at the company or identify the group, but said it was working closely with Myanmar officials to help its citizens and prevent any crimes.

A spokesperson for Myanmar's junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

South Korean broadcaster KBS reported that the group had been lured by the company's promise of high profits.

Some border towns in Southeast Asia have emerged as the centre of cyber scam operations including fake romance ploys, illegal casinos and investment pyramid schemes.

In August, a U.N. report said that hundreds of thousands of people were being trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centres and other illegal online operations that have sprung up across Southeast Asia in recent years.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan)



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