[Tee tiong huat]

YANGON—Myanmar’s junta on Tuesday slammed UN’s “one-sided allegations” about human rights record, said it received no official communication regarding recent appointment of special envoy to the conflict-torn country. Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since military seized power in Feb 2021, ending a brief democratic experiment sparking clashes with ethnic rebel groups & anti-coup fighters.

It criticized junta’s “stranglehold” on humanitarian assistance, which it said was exacerbating a crisis that has displaced more than 2.5 million people.
That resolution “included unfounded and one-sided allegations,” the junta’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement published in the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

“Therefore, Myanmar categorically rejects the resolution.” Statement also said UN had made “no official communication to Myanmar” regarding last week’s appointment of a new UN special envoy to the country, former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop. On Tuesday, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that, as the appointment was made through a General Assembly resolution, it “doesn’t follow the same consultative processes as Security Council resolutions.”

“I think the official announcement that we put out on Friday is an official announcement. So we informed everybody that the appointment had been made,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. The position of UN special envoy to Myanmar has been vacant since the departure of Noeleen Heyzer in June 2023. The Singaporean sociologist had been tasked with urging the military to engage in political dialogue with opposing groups and end a bloody crackdown it launched after toppling the government of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Heyzer visited Myanmar in 2022 and met junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and other top military officials, in a move criticized by rights groups as lending legitimacy to the generals. But she was denied a meeting with detained democracy figurehead Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and later irked junta officials, who accused her of issuing a “one-sided statement” of what had been discussed.

She later vowed not to visit the country again unless she was allowed to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently serving a 27-year jail sentence handed down by a junta court.

Myanmar’s UN envoy U Kyaw Moe Tun was appointed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s govt & has refused to leave his post despite junta’s insistence that he no longer represents the country
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/myanmars-...ecord.html

[Tee tiong huat]

Myanmar troops retreat as rebels declare control over key border town. About 200 Myanmar military personnel withdrew to a bridge to Thailand on Thursday (Apr 11) after a days-long assault by anti-junta resistance, which declared it had won control of the critical border town of Myawaddy, latest in a string of rebel wins.

Myanmar's military-run govt is battling insurgencies on several fronts and has suffered a series of defeats in frontier areas since last October, when rebel groups launched a coordinated offensive near the Chinese border.

The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil after the military deposed an elected civilian government in a 2021 coup, sparking a nationwide armed resistance that is now operating alongside some long-established ethnic rebel groups.

"Today KNU-led joint resistance forces captured the remaining military base in Myawaddy," Kyaw Zaw, a spokesperson for Myanmar's National Unity Government, told Reuters.

The body is a shadow administration of ousted lawmakers and anti-junta groups.

"This is a crucial victory for our revolution since Myawaddy is an important border town for the junta, one of the main (sources of) income from border trade," he added.

A spokesperson for the Myanmar junta did not respond to telephone calls to seek comment.

The retreat of junta troops in Myawaddy, adjacent to the Thai town of Mae Sot, signals the potential loss of another key border trading outpost with direct highway access to parts of central Myanmar.

On Thursday, about 200 fleeing Myanmar soldiers gathered at a border crossing into Thailand, said Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the Karen National Union (KNU), an anti-junta group leading the assault on Myawaddy.

News outlet Khit Thit said Thai authorities were in talks with the soldiers to decide whether to grant them refuge.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/mya...wn-4257716

[Gemstar]

Good riddance of the evil military junta. Junta armies are only good in killing unarmed civilians. When facing the fearless rebels, they are hopeless and useless.

[Tee tiong huat]

Myanmar's military-ruled capital is been attacked by drones position. They has claimed a rare mass drone attack on country's embattled junta govt in heavily guarded capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

The National Unity Govt (NUG) - which calls itself the govt in exile - said it deployed 29 drones armed with explosives to the airport, air force base and army headquarters. Junta said it had intercepted drones, shooting down seven, including one which exploded on runway. There is no casualties, they said.

NUG represents elected civilian govt previously led by Aung San Suu Kyi was toppled in a coup 2021. Since then & other opposition groups have been fighting junta regime, who has begun losing control of large areas of country 3-year civil war with thousands kill''s and displaced about 2.6 mil people according to the UN.

Attack on capital marks a bold & rare incursion by resistance groups are mounting increasingly effective opposition to junta. Nay Pyi Taw is ctr of power for military regime which named it their capital, replacing Yangon, it Heavily guarded, it has been shielded from much of the fighting that has raged elsewhere across country. Week later, junta staged its annual Armed Forces Day parade in city & event which showcased tanks, armoured, & thousands of soldiers took place @night.

On Thurs, representatives from NUG told BBC. Burmese says they planned & strategised with several defence grps to conduct drone attacks. "Synchronised drone ops were simultaneously executed against Nay Pyi Taw targeting both the military HQ… and Alar air base," NUG's deputy secretary Mg Mg Swe said.

The military reported shooting down 4-drones at airport in capital & 3-drones when it approached Zayarthiri township. Officials made no reference to the other drones reported by opposition. NUG earlier this year said more than 60% of country's territory is under the control of resistance forces, b4 Thur attack, uh regime was seen to have suffered its most serious setback last October.

An alliance of ethnic insurgents overran dozens of military outposts along the border with India and China. The junta has also lost large areas of territory to insurgents along the Bangladesh and Indian borders. The fierce fighting has pushed the junta to enforce mandatory conscription. In February - where men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 - would be forced to enlist.

Observers have said the enforcement of the law reveals the junta's diminishing grip on the country, and the high toll in fighting. There have also been reports of high defection rates.

The Tatmadaw, as however still retain significantly more weapons & more advanced firepower than the other resistance fighter groups. As such, opposition groups have pivoted to using commercial drones carrying bombs to target military holds, researchers say. 

There have been several such "drop bomb" attacks in recent months.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68730993

Singapore ‘tightens screws’ on Myanmar generals with arms trade crackdown. UN says Russia, China & India continue to send weapons to Myanmar as the Singapore
route is blocked.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/12...-crackdown

[cityhantam]

Singapore ‘tightens screws’ on Myanmar generals with arms trade crackdown. UN says Russia, China & India continue to send weapons to Myanmar as the Singapore
route is blocked.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/12...-crackdown

Sg?

Pressure from Assmerica? 

[Tee tiong huat]

Singapore ‘tightens screws’ on Myanmar generals with arms trade crackdown.

SingUN says Russia, China & India continue to send weapons to Myanmar as the Singapore
route is blocked.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/12...-crackdown

Bangkok, Thailand – Singapore has responded to United Nations pressure by cracking down on sales of weapons through its territory to Myanmar, delivering a serious blow to the embattled generals, who seized power in a coup more than three years ago.

Thomas Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, told Al Jazeera that the city state’s government “immediately responded” to his 2023 report that found Singapore-based entities had become the third largest source of weapons materials to the military and were “critical” to its weapons procurement.

Myanmar troops retreat to Thai border bridge after days of fighting

Anti-coup forces claim control of key Myanmar border town

Myanmar anti-coup forces claim ‘success’ in Naypyidaw drone attack

UN condemns ‘reprehensible’ use of mines in Myanmar as deaths triple.

[Gemstar]

Singapore ‘tightens screws’ on Myanmar generals with arms trade crackdown. UN says Russia, China & India continue to send weapons to Myanmar as the Singapore
route is blocked.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/12...-crackdown

Russia and China wil always be helping the rogue and tyrant junta. Yet, keep claiming they are neutral.

[cityhantam]

Russia and China wil always be helping the rogue and tyrant junta. Yet, keep claiming they are neutral.

You got info from CIA ah? 

[FangFang]

Jilat,,, still want to fight.

[Tee tiong huat]

Bangkok, Thailand – Singapore has responded to United Nations pressure by cracking down on sales of weapons through its territory to Myanmar, delivering a serious blow to the embattled generals, who seized power in a coup more than three years ago.

Thomas Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, told Al Jazeera that the city state’s government “immediately responded” to his 2023 report that found Singapore-based entities had become the third largest source of weapons materials to the military and were “critical” to its weapons procurement.

Myanmar troops retreat to Thai border bridge after days of fighting

Anti-coup forces claim control of key Myanmar border town

Myanmar anti-coup forces claim ‘success’ in Naypyidaw drone attack

UN condemns ‘reprehensible’ use of mines in Myanmar as deaths triple.

Exodus to Thailand continues after fall of key Myanmar border town as Thailand toil their story about anti-junta resistance won  their fight and gaining strength.


Military personnel stands guard, as 200 Myanmar military personnel withdrew to a bridge to Thai on Thursday after a assault by anti-junta resistance, won control critical border town of Myawaddy, the latest in a string of rebel wins, near the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Sot, Tak province, Thailand, on Apr 11, 2024.

The loss of town robs junta, already grappling with an economy in free fall, of vital earnings from border trade while strengthening rebel groups such as Karen National Union (KNU) that led the assault on Myawaddy, analysts say.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/exo...wn-4260436

[Tee tiong huat]

Karen National Union announces plans to replace regime admin in Myawaddy.

The ethnic armed and governance organisation says it has seized full control of the border trade hub and aims to see its governance infrastructure implemented there. Myanmar NowApril 12, 2024

Karen National Union (KNU) said on Friday that it will set up its own administrative mechanism in territory recently captured from the military in and around the critical trade hub of Myawaddy, on Myanmar’s border with Thailand.

We will take decisive measures to abolish the regime’s administration and replace it with our own,” KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee said. “To end military rule, our first step is to liberate junta-controlled areas, driving junta troops out of our territory. We will continue to implement our plan to establish our administration one step at a time.”

KNU has several established depts in its governance infrastructure, including those for health, education, foreign affairs, and defence and operates in seven districts across southeastern Myanmar, including in Karen & Mon states & Bago and Tanintharyi regions.
https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/karen-na...-myawaddy/

[Tee tiong huat]

Karen National Union announces plans to replace regime administration in Myawaddy the ethnic armed and governance organisation said.
critical trade hub of Myawaddy, on Myanmar’s border with Thailand. We will take decisive measures to abolish the regime’s administration and replace it with our own. Two days before last week’s surprise resistance drone attack on regime targets in Naypyitaw, Vice Senior General Soe Win was at the Ba Htoo military academy in southern Shan State meeting with officers and rank-and-file troops.

As army chief, Vice Snr-Gen Soe Win makes regular visits to military command centers and schools to boost morale.

Also this week, the regime’s second-in-command felt rumble of war, fleeing troops missed their plane, and a deputy minister landed in hot water.

According to junta’s news media, Soe Win, who holds positions of Vice Chairman of State Administration Council & Deputy Defense Services Commander-in-Chief (Army), met infantry platoon commander trainees & officer cadets in Aung San Hall of the Tatmadaw (Army) Combat Training School (Ba Htoo) on the morning of Tuesday, April 2 and delivered a speech.

[Tee tiong huat]

Junta: Dictator Borrows Time in Library, Launches Military Training for Conscripts more..Some might be wondering what junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was doing this past week as the key trade town of Myawaddy on the Thai border came under siege and drones attacked his nerve center of Naypyitaw.

The answer is donating books to libraries. On April 3, he organized a ceremony to hand over books to public libraries & their counterparts at regional commands and battalions. A similar ceremony took place on Wed when he donated cash and publications for the “development of libraries” across the country. Was this a tactical maneuver to distract attention from his secret military counteroffensive?

Apparently not. As troops fled Myawaddy while military airbase in Naypyitaw came under attack again (Thurs), to dismay of defense minister Tin Aung San, home affairs minister Yar Pyae as well as navy and air chiefs who donated cash for libraries on Wednesday.

Some may argue supplying books for public libraries is always a good thing. Well, let’s take a look at the books that Min Aung Hlaing supplied. One of the titles is “The Public Science Treatise”, which was originally published under Myanmar’s first prime minister, U Nu, some 7-decades ago – long b4 people landed on moon. Min Aung Hlaing had book, is ancient by scientific standards, reprinted last year with no additions or edits.

The Irrawaddy: Retreating to his books...Some might be wondering what junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was doing this past week as key trade town of Myawaddy on Thai border came under siege and drones attacked his nerve center of Naypyitaw.

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The answer is donating books to libraries. On April 3, he organized a ceremony to hand over books to public libraries and their counterparts at regional commands and battalions.

A similar ceremony took place on Wednesday when he donated cash and publications for the “development of libraries” across the country.

Was this a tactical maneuver to distract attention from his secret military counteroffensive?

Apparently not. His troops fled Myawaddy while the military airbase in Naypyitaw came under attack again on Thursday, to the dismay of regime defense minister Tin Aung San, home affairs minister Yar Pyae as well as the navy and air chiefs who donated cash for libraries on Wednesday.

Some may argue that supplying books for public libraries is always a good thing. Well, let’s take a look at the books that Min Aung Hlaing supplied. One of the titles is “The Public Science Treatise”, which was originally published under Myanmar’s first prime minister, U Nu, some seven decades ago – long before people had landed on the moon. Min Aung Hlaing had the book, which is ancient by scientific standards, reprinted last year with no additions or edits.

Civilians called up across country...Basic military training for the first intake of conscripts begins on Wednesday. Less than 2-mths after imposing mandatory military service, junta launched basic training for conscripts at regional commands across the country on April 8. Regime said 5,000 people would be drafted in first batch. They not revealing how many individuals are undergoing military training in first intake. 

Even b4 official training began, regime had forcibly recruited stateless Rohingya in Rakhine State and sent them straight to the front line after just a few weeks of military training. Some were later found dead in junta military uniform at a base seized by the ethnic Arakan Army.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing confirmed his plan to force young civilians into military service and return retired soldiers to active duty at the Armed Forces Day parade on March 27. Announcement followed a series of humiliating defeats after a three-year struggle on multiple fronts that has left the military suffering the worst crisis of morale in its history.

Drones home in on junta No. 2...
https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/junta...-more.html

[Tee tiong huat]

Rebels raise flag at seized Myanmar base, commander confident of retaining control.

MYAWADDY, Myanmar - Myanmar resistance fighters on April 15 burned the flag used by the military govt and raised their own banner at a newly captured army base, as a senior rebel commander vowed they would hold the strategic area near the Thai border.

The celebrations by fighters linked to the armed ethnic Karen National Union (KNU) came less than a week after the capture of Myawaddy, a key trading town on Thailand's western border.

Myawaddy's fall marked another battlefield loss for powerful military regime that seized control in 2021 from an elected govt led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains in detention.
KNU's national flag is raised after burning Myanmar's national flag @Myanmar military base at Thingyan Nyi Naung village on the outskirts of Myawaddy.

MYAWADDY, Myanmar - Myanmar resistance fighters on April 15 raised their own banner at a newly captured army base, as a senior rebel commander vowed they would hold the strategic area near the Thai border.

Celebrations fighters linked to armed ethnic Karen National Union (KNU) came less than a week after capturing of Myawaddy, a key trading town on Thailand's western border. This 
Myawaddy's fall marked another battlefield loss for military regime seized control in 2021 from elected govt led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains in detention.

Simmering anger against the junta has turned into a nationwide armed resistance movement that is now increasingly operating in coordination with established ethnic rebel groups to challenge the military across large parts of Myanmar.

Since October 2023, the army has lost control of key areas near its borders with both India and China to a loose coalition of allied resistance forces. Loss of Myawaddy at the Thai border could further dent trade revenue for the junta.

A rare in-person interview, Colonel Nadah Htoo, a Ops commander of Brigade 6 of KNU's military wing captured army base use by junta forces have tried & failed to retake area. "They have been unsuccessful in breakthrough twice now," he said.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/rebels...ng-control

[Tee tiong huat]

Myanmar’s Mothers Describe Agony as Embattled Junta Snatches Sons for Military Service

Daw Khin Myint trembles with emotion as she describes young men lined up at No.1 Advanced Military Training School in Yangon’s Taikkyi Township beneath a banner reading “We welcome good citizens of the country to serve in military.”

Her son was in the queue of individuals aged 18-35 called up for mandatory service. New draftees were forcibly recruited under a newly activated conscription law that covers millions of male and female citizens.


Conscription nightmare haunting parents across country has come true for Daw Khin Myint, who like other mothers cried everyday since her son was forcibly enlisted. “I even wanted to kill myself [than seeing my son drafted],” Daw Khin Myint said, her voice cracking with emotion.

She said the day the ward administrator informed her that her 27-year-old son, who had been working to support his parents, was on military service list was the saddest of her life. “I don’t agree with this. They are doing it against our wishes,” she said, if serves in military, he will probably be killed.”

Military officials took her son for a medical checkup on March 27, saying he would be sent back home after a blood test. Instead, like others he was transported straight to No. 1 Advanced Military Training School.

On discovering that her son was in the first batch of military training scheduled for the opening week of April, the heat of summer paled in comparison to her inner torment.

“I was worried. I can’t eat or sleep,” Daw Khin Myint told the Irrawaddy through tears.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/features/myanm...rvice.html

[Tee tiong huat]

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s jailed moved to house arrest. Junta spokesperson says Nobel laureate is among prisoners to be moved out of prison as a precaution. Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, according to the military junta.

A spokesperson said the measure was taken due to extremely hot weather and that it was trying to prevent heatstroke among “all those who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners”. It is understood that both Aung San Suu Kyi, 78, and president U Win Myint, 72, have both been moved from prison, though it is not clear where they have been taken.

Both have been held since military seized power in a coup in February 2021, plunging the country into widespread conflict. Concerns has previously been raised about health of both former leaders. U Win Myint was reportedly treated for an unspecified disease in prison in June last year, was fitted with a urinary catheter. In September last year, Aung San Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris said she had such serious gum disease that she was struggling to eat.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent nearly two decades under some form of arrest since 1989. Following 2021 coup, she has been convicted of offences ranging from treason & corruption to violations of telecommunications law – charges she denies. In total, she faces 27 years in prison, which means she could be kept in detention until she is more than 100 years old.

The UN security council has called for her release, while the cases have been criticised by rights experts. Very little is known about the proceedings in any of her trials, which cannot be accessed by media or observers.

“If any harm befalls Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint, the Myanmar junta leaders will bear direct responsibility and will be held accountable by the people of Myanmar,” said Dr Sasa, Minister of International Cooperation in the National Unity Government (NUG), which was set up to oppose the junta. The cases against the leaders had nothing to do with rule of law, he added.

He said the junta’s claim that the leaders had been moved in response to heatwaves rang hollow. “We know that Myanmar’s junta leaders have a history of dishonesty. The people of Myanmar deserve to know the true situation regarding their elected leaders,” Sasa said.

Both leaders have been denied family visits and necessary medical treatment, despite their deteriorating health, Sasa said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/a...says-junta

[Tee tiong huat]

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s jailed moved to house arrest. Junta spokesperson says Nobel laureate is among prisoners to be moved out of prison as a precaution. Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, according to the military junta.

A spokesperson said the measure was taken due to extremely hot weather and that it was trying to prevent heatstroke among “all those who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners”. It is understood that both Aung San Suu Kyi, 78, and president U Win Myint, 72, have both been moved from prison, though it is not clear where they have been taken.

Both have been held since military seized power in a coup in February 2021, plunging the country into widespread conflict. Concerns has previously been raised about health of both former leaders. U Win Myint was reportedly treated for an unspecified disease in prison in June last year, was fitted with a urinary catheter. In September last year, Aung San Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris said she had such serious gum disease that she was struggling to eat.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent nearly two decades under some form of arrest since 1989. Following 2021 coup, she has been convicted of offences ranging from treason & corruption to violations of telecommunications law – charges she denies. In total, she faces 27 years in prison, which means she could be kept in detention until she is more than 100 years old.

The UN security council has called for her release, while the cases have been criticised by rights experts. Very little is known about the proceedings in any of her trials, which cannot be accessed by media or observers.

“If any harm befalls Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint, the Myanmar junta leaders will bear direct responsibility and will be held accountable by the people of Myanmar,” said Dr Sasa, Minister of International Cooperation in the National Unity Government (NUG), which was set up to oppose the junta. The cases against the leaders had nothing to do with rule of law, he added.

He said the junta’s claim that the leaders had been moved in response to heatwaves rang hollow. “We know that Myanmar’s junta leaders have a history of dishonesty. The people of Myanmar deserve to know the true situation regarding their elected leaders,” Sasa said.

Both leaders have been denied family visits and necessary medical treatment, despite their deteriorating health, Sasa said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/a...says-junta

Yes!. The Weather is mad...

[Tee tiong huat]

Yes!. The Weather is mad...

Heaty, Cloudiness, Dryness, Sunshine, Windy, Rainy, etc so on.... "if the weather's good is ok. But we can go for a walk", then suddenly turn mad... crying

[Tee tiong huat]

Heaty, Cloudiness, Dryness, Sunshine, Windy, Rainy, etc so on.... "if the weather's good is ok. But we can go for a walk", then suddenly turn mad... crying

Myanmar's detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 78, has been detained by the Myanmar military since it overthrew her govt in a 2021 coup. She faces 27 years in prison, crimes she denies,  ranging from treason & bribery to violations of telecommunications law, charges.

"Since mad weather is extremely hot, it is not only for Aung San Suu Kyi ... For all those, who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners, we are working to protect them from heatstroke," junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun said in comments reported by four media outlets late on Tuesday (Apr 16).

It was not immediately clear where she had been moved to. Zaw Min Tun did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest for a total of 15 years under a previous junta at a decrepit, colonial-style family residence on Yangon's Inya Lake, where she famously gave impassioned speeches to crowds of supporters over the metal gates of the property.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/mya...on-4270891

[Tee tiong huat]

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Remains in Prison:
By Irrawaddy APRIL 18, 2024 
The junta merely said it would take steps to shield elderly prisoners from the heat; there is no evidence to support reports she was moved to house arrest, sources say

[Tee tiong huat]

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi being used as ‘human shield’, son fears.

LONDON - Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was moved from prison to house arrest, possibly to be used by the South-east Asian nation’s ruling junta as a human shield in its conflict with resistance fighters, her son said on April 18.

Ms Suu Kyi has been detained by the Myanmar military since it overthrew her government in a 2021 coup.

The 78-year-old Nobel laureate was held under house arrest for a total of 15 years under a previous junta.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/myanma...-son-fears

[Tee tiong huat]

Junta Watch: Mystery Deepens Over Fate of Regime. April 8 & 9, resistance forces carried out drone attacks on Southeastern Command in Mon State’s Mawlamyine Town. Since then, junta man Major-General Zaw Min Tun has twice says he denied deputy junta chief Soe Win was badly injured in those attacks. Last time Soe Win was seen in public was on April 3 when he visited the garrison town of Ba Htoo in southern Shan State.

At the time drone attacks, Soe Win was visiting Southeastern Command oversee counter offensive to retake Myawaddy Town near Myanmar-Thai border from Karen resistance forces. Soe Win was also a notable absentee at last week’s Thingyan celebrations in Naypyitaw despite having joined the water festival in previous years.

No-show was followed by rumors that Min Aung Hlaing’s loyalist Quartermaster-General Kyaw Swar Lin would soon replace Soe Win as deputy military chief.

https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/junta...-more.html

[Tee tiong huat]

Clashes between Myanmar’s junta and anti-regime groups have broken out again near a vital trade hub close to Thailand’s border, the army said on Saturday, following a week of relative calm.

Fighting broke out around Myawaddy earlier this mth as junta forced to withdraw from positions town. As Junta Airstrikes target Myawaddy After Clashes Resume.

Junta airstrikes near Second Friendship Bridge to Mae Sot near Thai throughout Saturday to support its remaining forces as fresh fighting resumed in Myawaddy. 

Karen National Liberation Army and its allies attacked around 150 junta soldiers who sheltered near bridge on Myanmar’s side by dropping bombs with drones on Friday night & launched attacks on Saturday morning to take full control of the town.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/mya...esume.html

[Tee tiong huat]

War Between Arakan Army And Myanmar Military Enters ‘Critical Phase. The Arakan Army (AA) has steamrolled through Rakhine since it ended its informal ceasefire with Myanmar’s military in the state last November.

Now, it is fighting a battle that will determine the future of Rakhine people, the ethnic army’s spokesperson, Khaing Thukha, told The Irrawaddy.

“This is a critical moment,” he said during an interview about the military situation in Rakhine State and the AA’s progress towards its goal.
Since its founding 15 years ago it has been transformed from a handful of recruits training on a mountaintop in Kachin State into a giant killer.

Now one of the largest and most powerful of the country’s ethnic armies, it has seized most of northern Rakhine State since last November. Its political objective is for Rakhine to be at least a confederate state. It has been 15 years since the AA was formed.

We can say we have made considerable achievements. We are gaining greater momentum and getting closer to our goal. Can others areas AA has seized, and is trying move?. We have total control over Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Myebon, Ramree, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung and [Chin State’s] Paletwa townships. We have also seized rural areas in Maungdaw and Buthidaung [where] junta troops are only present in the towns.

It is the same in Kyaukphyu and Sittwe [townships] where we control rural areas. In all the other townships, we control certain areas through various means even though we are not fighting.
AA doing in towns it has seized too.? What next.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/inte...phase.html

[Tee tiong huat]

AA Battles Myanmar Junta Forces Near Rakhine Tourist Hotspot. Ngapali Beach, a tourist destination in Thandwe Township / The Irrawaddy

Intense clashes between ethnic Arakan Army (AA) & junta’s military forces broke out Monday in Rakhine State’s Thandwe Township, which is home to Ngapali Beach, a popular tourist destination, local Rakhine media reported.

Fighting started near Tha Htay hydropower plant in north township at noon & junta used aircraft to bomb AA troops, Rakhine media outlet Narinjara reported, citing residents near clash site.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-again...tspot.html

[Tee tiong huat]

Myanmar rebel group withdraws troops from key town on Thai border Fighting had flared as recently as Saturday in Myawaddy, forcing 3,000 civilians to flee in a single day as rebels fought to flush out stranded Myanmar government troops holed up at a border bridge crossing.
 https://www.thejakartapost.com/world/202...order.html.

[Tee tiong huat]

Hundreds of Myanmar Junta Personnel Who Fled Rakhine Clashes Repatriated From Bangladesh....https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/myanmars-crisis-the-world/hundreds-of-myanmar-junta-personnel-who-fled-rakhine-clashes-repatriated-from-bangladesh.html

The Irrawaddy- Home  News  
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Myanmar junta troops, border police and immigration officials who had fled to Bangladesh boarded a Myanmar naval vessel near Cox’s Bazar ahead of repatriation to their home country. Nearly 300 Myanmar junta personnel who fled to Bangladesh amid fighting in Rakhine State were repatriated on Thursday morning, Bangladeshi officials said.

Two Bangladeshi officials told The Irrawaddy that the 288 personnel were sent home on a Myanmar naval ship after being ferried to the vessel from Cox’s Bazar on a tugboat in the morning.

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Myawaddy refugees sent back to Myanmar after fleeing to Thailand

Local volunteers who had been supporting people displaced by fighting in the border trade hub say that ‘both countries’ decided on the return of 3,000 recent refugees from two makeshift camps

Thousands of people from Myanmar fled to Thailand to escape fighting in Karen State town of Myawaddy were sent back across the border on Wed, volunteers in one of the makeshift camps they had been staying.
More than 5,000 people in Myawaddy Township initially left their homes in the first week of April amid clashes in the Kawkareik Township village of Thingan Nyinaung, west of Myawaddy, between the junta and forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)—the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU)—which seized control of the town earlier this month.

On Monday night, citing military sources, AFP reported that the Myanmar junta had retaken to Myawaddy; on Sunday, the KNLA temporarily retreated from the town after attacking junta troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 275 one day earlier, residents and a KNU spokesperson said.
https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/myawaddy...-thailand/

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Karen Troops Capture Another Myanmar Junta Base Near Thai Border. Karen National Union (KNU) and allied resistance forces seized a junta military base and a supply station in Karen State’s Papun Township on April 24, KNU Brigade 5 said in a statement.

The township is on the state’s northern tip, near the border with Thailand.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/kar...order.html

[Tee tiong huat]

Karen National Union (KNU) and allied resistance forces seized a junta military base and a supply station in Karen State’s Papun Township on April 24, KNU Brigade 5 said in a statement.

The township is on the state’s northern tip, near the border with Thailand.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/kar...order.html

Karen Troops Capture Another Junta Base Near Thai Border. 
https://www.irrawaddy.com/