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By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes. 

Since the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup in Myanmar, at least 4,474 civilians have been killed, more than 25,000 people have been arrested and over 78,000 civilian houses have been burned down across the country as a result of the military junta’s nationwide campaign of terror against the population.

Moreover, the country has sunk into deep social, political and economic turmoil. Below, The Irrawaddy looks at some key global indices that tell the story of the country’s three-year descent into chaos under the military regime.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/analys...gimes.html

Three years after Myanmar’s military seized control and ousted a democratically elected government, the junta is struggling to retain its grip on power.

What’s happened since 2021?
Here's a look at key events that led Myanmar to its current state.

What’s the situation in Myanmar now?
After three years of turmoil, the nation has been left in tatters. According to the UN, about two-thirds of the country remains gripped by conflict. Some 2.6 million people have been displaced and 18.6 million are in dire need of humanitarian aid. Millions are without access to safe shelter, food or drinking water.

The death toll remains a challenge to verify. The UN said at least 4,400 civilians have been killed, but rights groups believe actual numbers are higher as many deaths are likely to have gone unreported.
Humanitarians say they are struggling to reach those in need, with military rulers heavily restricting the delivery of aid.

International communities are calling for junta leaders to be held accountable for atrocities against civilians. “There are killings, torture, arbitrary arrest, shelling, airstrikes, indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations,” said Mr John Quinley, director of Fortify Rights, a human rights group focused primarily on Myanmar.

“Those in command & control are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Pushing for international accountability & holding perpetrators to justice are really important. “If there is ongoing impunity, these crimes will happen again. If world had held Min Aung Hlaing, who was the leader of the military during the Rohingya genocide, responsible, then you wouldn't have this military coup.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/mya...ta-4091861

(03-02-2024, 10:51 PM)Tee tiong huat Wrote: [ -> ]Myanmar civil war, also called the Myanmar Spring Revolution and the People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests.

Myanmar’s rebels see unity as key to victory over weakened military rulers. An alliance of ethnic forces has gained much ground in military-ruled Myanmar, but some fear the movement may splinter.

Karen State, Myanmar – A young fighter looks out from the upper floor in a concrete skeleton of a church that villagers have been building for two years in this small pocket of southeast Myanmar.

The construction work has been a slow undertaking, said 21-year-old Zayar, a member of Myanmar’s Muslim community who moved from the country’s biggest city, Yangon, to this rebel camp near the Thai border to fight against his country’s military rulers.

Air strikes by military warplanes are a constant threat in this hamlet in Karen State – also known as Kayin – where jobs are scarce and money is tight.

(02-02-2024, 11:27 PM)Tee tiong huat Wrote: [ -> ]Blood and sweat’: Myanmar resistance fights to overturn military coup. Three years after the generals’ power grab, anti-coup fighters say they want them out of Myanmar’s politics.

February 1, 2021, a military coup in Myanmar sparked widespread nonviolent protests that quickly turned into an armed uprising after the military responded with brutal force.

Ethnic armed organisations fighting for autonomy along the country’s borders also joined the anti-coup groups in a war, which has since reached an unprecedented scale in Myanmar’s history.

Resistance forces share not only a common enemy but also a desire to overturn Myanmar’s military-dominated political system and establish a federal democracy that grants the right to self-determination for its ethnic minorities.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/1/...itary-coup

Suu Kyi isolated in rat-infested prison 3 years.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's first civilian leader in over 50 years, was often simply called "The Lady" after the military confined her to home for 15 years. 

BANGKOK -- Thursday marks the third anniversary of Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing's unconsolidated takeover of Myanmar, which removed from power his perceived nemesis, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected head of govt and most unifying political figure in the country's history.

After 1,095 days, Suu Kyi remains in solitary confinement in a prison on the southwestern edge of Naypyitaw, the capital and military central command. Her only respite was a short period last year during which she met Thailand's former foreign minister, Don Pramudwinai, and also had her sentence reduced from 33 to 27 years.

(02-02-2024, 11:27 PM)Tee tiong huat Wrote: [ -> ]Blood and sweat’: Myanmar resistance fights to overturn military coup. Three years after the generals’ power grab, anti-coup fighters say they want them out of Myanmar’s politics.

February 1, 2021, a military coup in Myanmar sparked widespread nonviolent protests that quickly turned into an armed uprising after the military responded with brutal force.

Ethnic armed organisations fighting for autonomy along the country’s borders also joined the anti-coup groups in a war, which has since reached an unprecedented scale in Myanmar’s history.

Resistance forces share not only a common enemy but also a desire to overturn Myanmar’s military-dominated political system and establish a federal democracy that grants the right to self-determination for its ethnic minorities.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/1/...itary-coup

Myanmar border guards flee to Bangladesh amid clashes with rebels. At least two people were killed in Bangladesh on Monday after mortar shells fired from Myanmar during clashes there landed across the border....
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/1/...itary-coup

(02-02-2024, 11:27 PM)Tee tiong huat Wrote: [ -> ]Blood and sweat’: Myanmar resistance fights to overturn military coup. Three years after the generals’ power grab, anti-coup fighters say they want them out of Myanmar’s politics.

Resistance forces share not only a common enemy but also a desire to overturn Myanmar’s military-dominated political system and establish a federal democracy that grants the right to self-determination for its ethnic minorities.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/1/...itary-coup

LOL what weed is this reporter smoking? Many of these armed groups are even more autocratic and dictatorial then the military junta.

This whole slugfest is simply a territory grabbing contest, which warlord exactly is advocating for federal democracy?

Myanmar resistance continue to fights to overturn military coup 3 years after generals’ power grab, anti-coup fighters say they want them out of Myanmar’s politics. Myanmar resistance army deports nearly 60 Chinese nationals. The group was arrested for multiple charges, including possessing illegal weapons and online fraud.

Resistance army in northern Myanmar handed over nearly 60 Chinese nationals to China. accused of online fraud and owning illegal weapons. Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which occupies Kokang region on border with China, deported 59 Chinese citizens Sunday and Monday. One group of 36 people was arrested on Sunday and another 23 were captured on Monday, announced it investigated Dong Chein and Swan Hauw Chein neighborhoods of Shan state’s Laukkaing city during a crackdown on drug trafficking and illegal weapons.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army’s Special Police Department seized mobile phones and weapons from the 36 suspected of online fraud, according to a statement from the Kokang Information Department. Monday’s suspects were arrested in relation to online money laundering. All those arrested were handed over to Chinese authorities at an internally displaced persons camp called BP-125 on the China-Myanmar border in Laukkaing, according to report in Kokang.

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public By The Irrawaddy FEB 7, 2024.

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double execution. A video of the crime was shared months later. Warning: Graphic Content

Two anti-junta fighters in their 20s were executed in public in a village in Magwe Region and a video of the crime, which occurred about three months ago, was uploaded to social media on Tuesday and is circulating there.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/bur...ublic.html

For the first time, Myanmar forces flee into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic armed group. DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — More than 100 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police have fled their posts and taken shelter in Bangladesh to escape fighting between Myanmar security forces and an ethnic minority army, an official with Bangladesh’s border agency said Monday.

It is the first time that Myanmar forces have been known to flee into Bangladesh since an alliance of ethnic minority armies in Myanmar launched an offensive against the military government late last year.

Shariful Islam, spokesperson for Border Guard Bangladesh, said the Myanmar forces entered over the past two days during fighting with the Arakan Army in Myanmar’s Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh.
https://apnews.com/article/bangladesh-my...ade83e922d

The Labor Ministry of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has dissolved the Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Association for collaborating with the regime and failing to protect the rights of Myanmar migrant workers.

The NUG accused the association of imposing heavy service charges on Myanmar workers and failing to rectify violations of their rights.

Resistance Downs Myanmar Junta Helicopter as Kawlin Fighting continuing in Sagaing Region town of Kawlin as Myanmar’s junta tries to retake it from People’s Defense Forces (PDF) loyal to the civilian National Unity Govt. Regime forces from neighboring Kantbalu and Kyunhla townships are attacking Kawlin from the south and troops from Wuntho Township have been advancing from the north since Saturday.

Democracies around the world are falling short,” it concluded, reiterating its call for coordinated and wide-ranging action by the international community, including a global arms embargo and targeted sanctions, to prevent complicity in atrocities.
“Targeted sanctions are an important tool for the international community to deploy in support of the Myanmar people’s rejection of the attempted coup and struggle to build a federal democracy,” it explained.

The report compares sanctions imposed on the junta by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan and South Korea.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/myanmars-...eport.html

Arakan Army (AA) says it seized the last remaining Myanmar junta stronghold in the historic Rakhine State city of Mrauk U. The rebel army said in a statement that it sank three naval landing crafts on Wednesday and Thursday during a junta counteroffensive and fighting continues.

AA said it damaged at least seven other naval vessels on Rakhine State’s rivers in the last month. Police Battalion 31 in Mrauk U was seized by AA on Thursday, meaning the township is under the group’s control, it said. Rakhine media reported that the AA controls Minbya and Kyauktaw townships. Irrawaddy could not independently verify. A Rakhine activist, who is monitoring the conflict, told The Irrawaddy that it is too early to say the three townships have been cleared of all junta troops. A naval vessel fired at least 25 shells into Ramree town and surrounding villages on Friday and a junta outpost at Thein Taung Kone pagoda also shelled the town.

AA’s said: “The junta is murdering and deliberately attacking civilians in direct contravention of the Geneva Conventions and committing war crimes.”
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/aa-...junta.html

Ethnic armed group says will continue Operation1027 offensive until goal of ousting Junta is achieved.

Jailed Ex-Junta Minister Soe Htut Moved to House Arrest for Health Reasons

Amnesty International report says Myanmar junta’s January airstrike on Kanan village near the Indian border in Tamu Township, Sagaing Region, should be investigated as a war crime.

The rights group has called on the United Nations Security Council to refer the incident to the International Criminal Court.

(12-02-2024, 05:37 PM)Tee tiong huat Wrote: [ -> ]Ethnic armed group says will continue Operation1027 offensive until goal of ousting Junta is achieved.

Jailed Ex-Junta Minister Soe Htut Moved to House Arrest for Health Reasons

Amnesty International report says Myanmar junta’s January airstrike on Kanan village near the Indian border in Tamu Township, Sagaing Region, should be investigated as a war crime.

The rights group has called on the United Nations Security Council to refer the incident to the International Criminal Court.

Myanmar’s junta activated a national conscription law on Saturday, summoning all young men and women to serve in armed forces for at least two years as it struggles to crush growing military offensives by anti-regime ethnic armed groups and their allied resistance forces across the country.

1st promulgated 65 yrs ago, law never been enforced by previous govts. Why now.

Myanmar Junta Forms Panel to Oversee Nationwide Military Conscription.

The Irrawaddy. Home  News  Burma
Myanmar Junta Forms Panel to Oversee Nationwide Military Conscription -- Myanmar Junta Forms Panel to Oversee Nationwide Military Conscription
Myanmar junta troops parade at the Armed Forces Day ceremony in Naypyitaw. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military regime has formed a national-level body to oversee implementation of the recently activated conscription law as the first step to introduce mandatory military service for the country’s young people.

A notice issued by the regime on Tuesday night said the 18-member body is led by deputy prime minister and defense minister Tin Aung San and includes the home affairs minister, border affairs minister, quartermaster-general, adjutant-general, and judge advocate-general. Chief of General Staff (army, navy, airforce) Maung Maung Aye is deputy chairman.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/mya...ption.html

CNA tonite at 9.00 pm wil feature Broken State of Myanmar. The bravery of the rebels fighting against tie evil junta are so touchable. The genocide of this evil junta shd be investigated for killing so many unarmed civilians and bombing of the school.

Thousands seek to leave Myanmar after military service announcement.

YANGON: More than 1,000 people lined up at the Thai embassy in Yangon on Friday (Feb 16) as young people sought to leave Myanmar after the junta said it would impose military service.

The military said last weekend it would enforce a law allowing it to call up all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve for at least two years as it struggles to quell opposition to its 2021 coup.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/mya...up-4128826

Two Myanmar Political Prisoners ‘Killed’ in Bago

Two political prisoners, including well-known activist Ma Noble Aye, were reportedly killed in detention by junta troops in Waw Township, Bago Region, after being arrested for allegedly carrying weapons for resistance forces.

The 88 Generation student activist was arrested along with Ko Lay Khwin of Yangon by junta troops on January 29 at a checkpoint in Waw Township allegedly in possession of weapons and ammunition while travelling to Yangon.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/two...-bago.html

An ethnic army in Myanmar launched an attack on yet another major city in the country’s west, with the state’s capital close behind, according to locals on Thursday. The Arakan Army, already in control of three townships in Rakhine state, began an assault on the seaside township of Rathedaung on Wed, residents told Radio Free Asia, that junta officials are retaliating in coastal area by air, land and sea.

“The AA attacked junta’s battalions in Rathedaung on Wednesday, frequent sound of heavy and small weapons could be heard, and airstrikes were carried out,” said a Rathedaung resident who declined to be named for safety reasons. “The junta is shelling artillery now.” The AA targeted Rathedaung-based junta battalions of 536, 537 and 538, according to locals.

Calls by RFA to Rakhine’s junta spokesperson Hla Thein and national junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered. The junta’s retaliation largely focused on civilians, township residents said, adding troops shelled nine villages with heavy artillery near Rathedaung city.

The AA said on Wednesday that Kha Naung Gyi, Ywar Thit Kay and Nwar Tin Koke were the first to be ambushed. Following the cessation of a year-long ceasefire with junta troops in November, AA has seized control of 3-townships – the historic capital of Mrauk-U, Minbya, and Kyauktaw. Additionally, the resistance force took over city of Pauktaw & Taung Pyo, a military post on Bangladesh border, alongside adjacent city of Paletwa in Chin state.

Separately, the AA also captured the Western Regional Headquarters in Kyauktaw, one of the state’s three junta headquarters, on Monday.

Moving South -- Publications in Rakhine cited sources close to AA stating on Monday, the anti-junta group warned of its plans to target Sittwe-based junta Military Regional Command HQ. Furthermore reportedly demanded junta’s to surrender b4 their arrival in Rakhine state’s capital.

There are reports that Arakan Army is going to attack Sittwe city. Defensive forts at battalions, nearby offices & outskirts of city are built &prepared, he said. “I saw army’s family members are being moved out toward Yangon by military [personnel] & on civilian planes. I don’t know the exact number of people, and I can’t estimate it.” As Conflict intensifying....
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar...71557.html

More money coming in from... To Sg.

Maybe that's why don't need more CPF funds liao... Jk lol

(18-02-2024, 07:31 PM)Sticw Wrote: [ -> ]More money coming in from... To Sg.

Maybe that's why don't need more CPF funds liao... Jk lol

Conscription Law Adds to Concerns Over Forced Migration.

Since junta seized power, waves of people from Myanmar have crossed over to Thailand.

The intense armed conflict in their homeland. Most of these people have adequately settled on Thai soil through various ways and means as conflict continues to deteriorate in most of the country, 

While updates on security concerns and armed conflict situation are ubiquitous, the economic of Myanmar is also worthy of discussion.

Bottom line is, it is bad; so bad that junta has been forced to develop some economic countermeasures. One such recent development is that the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has deployed a series of incremental relaxations in the policy on foreign exchange, such as floating the kyat to the market rate, since around mid-December of last year.

On the flip side weakened value of the kyat compared to overvalued official rate pegged prior to policy changes could also lead to higher domestic prices for traded goods, making it more expensive for the ordinary Myanmar person to purchase products. Lurking in the background is also the low productivity rate of the private sector.

The rising consumer price inflation, and border trade losses due to armed conflict. World Bank’s Myanmar Economic Monitor reported in Dec 2023 annual is inflation rate in Myanmar is now at 29 percent as the kyat has depreciated by 18 percent against the US dollar; and that firms were reportedly operating at just 56 percent of their capacity in September 2023. Similarly, the Ministry of Commerce of the State Administration Council (SAC.).

The junta’s official name) recorded a 40-percent border trade decline, in the areas adjacent to both Thailand and China, since the beginning of Operation 1027, a major anti-regime military offensive launched in northern Shan State in October by an alliance of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs). Overall, the combination of instability from both the security and economic perspectives could potentially render Myanmar unliveable for its people

Bracing street fighting soon as Myanmar Junta Retreats back.

The AA is attacking Rathedaung town told the Regional Operations Command in state capital, Sittwe, to surrender. 

Sittwe is the junta’s administrative seat in Rakhine. The regime blew up a bridge on  Yangon-Sittwe road to disrupt AA to advances on city and senior administrative officials have allegedly left Sittwe. Many Sittwe’s residents have left but The Irrawaddy recently talked to someone who remains in the city. What is the situation. Sittwe is junta’s seat in Rakhine. The AA has taken most of northern Rakhine State but Buthidaung has not fallen. The AA controls Paletwa, Kyauktaw, Minbya and Mrauk-U along the Kaladan River..

Only Sittwe is left. Many residents have fled and people fear the city could be flattened, like Pauktaw and Minbya.

Fighting continues in northern Rakhine State since the Arakan Army (AA) launched an offensive against Myanmar’s junta in mid-November last year.

The AA has seized Mrauk-U, Minbya, Kyauktaw and Pauktaw towns and Paletwa in southern Chin State along with numerous junta bases and border outposts.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/sit...reats.html

The Irrawaddy Home  News  Burma

Rohingya Men in Myanmar Are Being Forcibly Recruited by The Junta’s Military.
February 23, 2024 Reading Time: 

Rohingya Men in Myanmar Are Being Forcibly Recruited by The Junta’s Military
A IDP camp for Rohingya people near Rakhine State’s capital Sittwe. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military is forcibly recruiting Rohingya men from villages and camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Rakhine State and it is feared they will be used as human shields, activists and residents of the state warn.

The warning was prompted by the initial drive to force Rohingya men in the war-torn state to join the junta’s military, which saw at least 400 Rohingya men from villages and IDP camps sent to military bases for two weeks of basic training.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/roh...itary.html

Arakan Army Seizes Junta Police Station Near Rakhine Capital. Arakan Army (AA) says it seized Ponnagyun Township police station near Rakhine State’s capital Sittwe on Thursday. Ponnagyun is on the Yangon-Sittwe road about 30km north of state capital, where regime has tightened security.

Karen Brigades Take More Territory From Myanmar Junta: KNU...Karen National Union (KNU) has captured more territory in Mon and Karen states and Bago Region where the ethnic armed group’s three brigades are based, according to KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Taw Nee. KNU spokesman last month traveled to the front line in Thaton District where KNU Brigade 1 is based, Nyaunglebin District in Bago Region where Brigade 3 is based, Doopalaya District in southeastern Karen State where Brigade 6 is based.

Padoh Saw Taw Nee reported on his front-line visits in a recently published video. The KNU’s armed wing, Karen National Liberation Army, occupied Let Khet mountain over looking Myawaddy town near Thai border in July last year, and has since successfully repulsed 13 junta attacks to retake the mountain, KNU spokesman said.

It now has control over the Asian Highway from Myawaddy to Kyonedoe town, with its troops primarily deployed in rural areas. “We have controlled the Asian Highway since December,” he said in the video.

In Bago Region, KNU Brigade 3 territory has expanded from rural areas in Kyaukkyi, Mone and Shwekkyin townships to over 60 villages in Pyu, Madauk, Nyaunglebin, Kyauktaga, Penwegon and Natthangwin on the west bank of the Sittaung River, said Padoh Saw Taw Nee.

Meanwhile, KNU Brigade 1 has gained territory in Mon State’s Thaton District townships of Bilin and Kyaikto, as well as neighboring Hpa-an in Karen State, he added.

“In Kyaikto, our troops can now wander around Kyaiktiyo (Golden Rock) Pagoda. Kyaikto Township is adjacent to Shwekyin Township. We can now go to the outskirts of Theinzayat.”

In areas controlled by the three KNLA brigades, junta troops no longer dare to leave their bases and have been reduced to a defensive position, Padoh Saw Taw Nee said.
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/kar...a-knu.html

Thai Police Round Up Myanmar Citizens Fleeing Conscription. Thai authorities have arrested over 100 citizens from Myanmar for allegedly illegally crossing the border since conscription was announced by the junta.

Myanmar’s regime on February 10 announced that the Conscription Law was being enforced for ages 18 to 35, leading many citizens to head to Thailand

(08-11-2023, 10:34 AM)cityhantam Wrote: [ -> ]Well, Vietnam and Laos are communist countries! 

BTW, that old lady who married AMTK was IC of the country for many years with nothing to show!

How many dead and how many gens damaged. 
some people still can find peace in an injustice society. If not how?  
we all shiok shiok watch youtube.

(24-02-2024, 03:31 PM)Tee tiong huat Wrote: [ -> ]Rohingya Men in Myanmar Are Being Forcibly Recruited by Junta’s Military.

Myanmar civil war impacting Bangladesh? As fighting between junta and rebel groups in Rakhine state is growing more intense. Neighboring Bangladesh may soon need to reach out to rebels on security & refugee issues.Bangladesh is closely watching the fighting in Myanmar's neighboring Rakhine state.

CONFLICTSBANGLADESH. How is Myanmar's civil war impacting Bangladesh?. Arafatul Islam in Cox's Bazar. February 22, 2024

Armed Bangladesh soldiers is closely watching the fighting in Myanmar's neighboring Rakhine stateImage: Arafatul Islam/DW Casualties have also been recorded in Bangladesh, with two people killed by an errant mortar round this month and several injured by gunshots from across the border. 

Rebel fighters have recently taken control of the Myanmar border region, and are seeking to oust junta forces from elsewhere in the state, this comes as a heavy blow for Myanmar's ruling junta, who seized power in February 2021 from elected govt of Aung San Suu Kyi to find itself embroiled in a wide-scale civil war. How?. Arakan Army is military wing of Rakhine ethnic minority who seeks autonomy from Myanmar's central govt has been attacking army outposts in Rakhine state since November 2023. 

Now Rohingya refugees skeptical return to Rakhine as Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, which shares a 271-kilometer (168 miles) border with Buddhist-dominated Myanmar.

Bangladesh is also home more than a million mostly Muslim Rohingya refugees fleeing fromMyanmar for decades especially as now the junta launched a brutal "clearance ops" in Rakhine state against them in 2017.
DW news, some Rohingya refugees in coastal Bangladeshi town of Cox's Bazar commented on success of the AA rebels with skepticism. They do not believe predominantly Buddhist rebel force is willing to do much to improve their fate, even if the rebels manage to oust the junta.
https://www.dw.com/en/how-is-myanmars-ci...a-68337606