Page 10 - Myanmar

2,000 people from Myanmar cross over to India as gunfight rocks Chin state

Over 2,000 Myanmar nationals entered India through the international border in Mizoram over the last 24 hours after an intense gunfight in the neighbouring country's Chin state, an official said on Monday. James Lalrinchhana, the deputy commissioner (DC) of Champhai district which shares a border with Myanmar's Chin state, told PTI that an intense gunfight broke out between Myanmar's ruling junta-backed forces and militia group People's Defence Force (PDF) on Sunday evening. The fighting started after the PDF attacked two military bases at Khawmawi and Rihkhawdar in Chin state near the Indian border, he said, adding that the fighting continued till Monday. Over 2,000 people from Khawmawi, Rihkhawdar and the neighbouring villages in Chin crossed over to India and took shelter in Zokhawthar in Champhai district due to the gunfight, Lalrinchhana said. The Myanmar military base at Rihkhawdar was taken over by the militia in the early hours of Monday, and the base at Khawmawi was also .

NIA conducts raids in human trafficking cases, Myanmar national detained

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted nationwide raids to arrest those involved in human trafficking and detained a person from Myanmar in Jammu, according to officials. The raids, being conducted in eight states and two Union Territories, pertain to human trafficking cases, a spokesperson of the NIA said. The official said searches were carried out in Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry. A Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar was detained during a raid in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said in Jammu. Zaffar Alam was taken into custody from his temporary residence in the Bathindi area of Jammu around 2 am, while another accused is on the run, the official said. The raids were restricted to slums housing Myanmar immigrants and were conducted in connection with a case related to violation of the Passports Act and human trafficking, the official in Jammu said.

Myanmar resistance claims capture of district capital from military govt

Armed resistance groups fighting Myanmar 's military government seized a district capital in the north on Monday after taking state offices and a police station in a four-day offensive, according to residents, the country's major opposition coalition and media reports. Kawlin in Sagaing region is the first administrative capital seized by the resistance forces in continuing strife since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Sagaing has been a stronghold of armed resistance to the army, which has responded with major offensives using ground troops supported by artillery and air strikes, burning down villages and driving hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Loosely organised resistance groups opposed to army rule, known as the People's Defense Force, or PDF, have sprung up around the country since the army's takeover. They have made alliances with well-established armed ethnic minority groups such as the Kachin and Karen,

Road connecting Mizoram with Myanmar to be completed by Nov: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said a cross-border road under the ambitious Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) to link south Mizoram's Lawngtlai district with Myanmar's Sittwe port will be completed by November this year. Addressing a rally at West Phaileng in Dampa assembly constituency in west Mizoram's Mamit district bordering Bangladesh, Gadkari said the 26-km road project costs Rs 1,132 crore. "The road under the Kaladan project will be completed by November and it will be helpful to connect Myanmar's Sittwe port," he said. Gadkari, the union road transport and highways minister, said that infrastructure and communication have to be developed to bring all-round development. "If the infrastructure is good, we get investment in industry and agriculture, by which we can create jobs. And by creating jobs we can eradicate poverty, which is the basic principle behind development," he said. Addressing the rally ahead of the November 7 Mizoram assembly poll

Indian envoy to Myanmar proposes setting up JWG for Traditional Medicine

Thein Zaw Linn, Rector, faculty members and students of UTM, Mandalay were informed about Ayush scholarships and Fellowships available in India

Myanmar military accused of bombing displacement camp, killing about 30

Myanmar's military was accused of launching an airstrike on a camp for displaced persons in the northern state of Kachin late Monday that killed more than 30 people, including 13 children, a human rights group and local media said. The attack on the Mung Lai Hkyet displacement camp in the northern part of Laiza, a town where the headquarters of the rebel Kachin Independence Army is based, also wounded about 60 people, a spokesperson for Kachin Human Rights Watch told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Laiza is about 324 kilometres northeast of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city. The spokesperson, who asked to be identified only as Jacob for security reasons, said 19 adults and 13 children from the camp were killed by the airstrikes, which occurred around 11 p.m. We strongly condemn this inhumane killing. This action causes resentment among the Kachin people, he said. Kachin News Group, a local online news site, reported that more than 30 displaced persons were killed by the bom

Heavy flooding in southern Myanmar displaces over 14,000 people

Flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Myanmar's southern areas has displaced more than 14,000 people and disrupted traffic on the rail lines that connect the country's biggest cities, officials and state-run media said Monday. State television MRTV reported Monday evening that the number of displaced people in Bago township, about 68 km (42 miles) northeast of Yangon, the country's biggest city, had climbed to that figure, and they were taking shelter in 36 relief camps. It said almost 1,000 more people in Mon state's township, just east of Bago, were sheltering in three relief camps, and there some evacuations in a northern part of Yangon. A senior official at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Lay Shwe Zin Oo, said that constant rainfall in the Bago region that began last week caused the flooding in the low-lying areas of its capital, Bago township. She said there were no casualties reported so far. Bago township recorded 7.87 inches (200 millimetres)

Indian envoy to UN highlights ongoing situation in Myanmar at HRC session

Pandey on Tuesday highlighted the ongoing situation in Myanmar and said that the displacement of people has led to an influx of Myanmar nationals into India

India play out 1-1 draw with Myanmar, enter round of 16 in men''s football

Riding on a Sunil Chhetri strike, the Indian men's football team held Myanmar to a 1-1 draw and progressed to the round of 16 in the Asian Games here on Sunday. They will play Saudi Arabia in the pre-quarters. Chhetri scored from the spot in the 23rd minute but it was Rahim Ali who earned the penalty when he was brought down inside the box by Hein Zeyar Lin. While Lin was shown a yellow card for his sliding tackle, the peerless Chhetri made no mistake in finding the back of the net, in what was a repeat of the act he performed against Bangladesh in the second group game two days ago. Coming off the bench, Kyaw Htwe found the equaliser for Myanmar when he headed the ball past Dheeraj Singh in the 74th minute at the Xiaoshan Sports Center Stadium. However, despite the two teams having same points, India progressed as the runner-up from Group A, as the Chhetri-led side has scored more goals than Myanmar in the tournament. All in all, it was a creditable performance from the Indians

Unified strategy, funding urgently needed to end Myanmar crisis: UN chief

The United Nations chief renewed an urgent call to the international community Thursday to seek a unified strategy to end the worsening crisis in Myanmar. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres said declining financial aid should be boosted to previous levels to enable the world body to respond to an enormous tragedy. He said the situation in Myanmar has further deteriorated since he met with ASEAN leaders in a 2022 summit, and again called on the crisis-wracked country's military-installed government to immediately free all political prisoners and open the door to a return to democratic rule. Myanmar's army seized power on February 1, 2021, from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, arresting her and top members of her governing National League for Democracy party, which had won a landslide victory for a new term in a November 2020 general election. Security forces suppressed widespread opposition to the military takeover with lethal force, killing thousands of civilians and ...

Small traders of Arunachal seek haats back on Indo-Myanmar border

The Covid-19 pandemic came as a bolt from the blue for Khingwom Mossang and many of her peers as their source of income from trading activities at Pangsau Pass in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, along the India-Myanmar border, came to a grinding halt in 2020. Not only Mossang but over 100 small traders have been facing difficulties after the border trade with Myanmar stopped with the outbreak of the pandemic. Two years on, they are still running from pillar to post to sustain their families and pleading with the government for early resumption of border trade, which began in 2000. For 46-year-old Mossang, the sudden halt in trading activities at Pangsau Pass came as a "shock" as she and her husband are now facing a tough time running their family. We are passing through a hard phase of life. We are finding difficulties in meeting our day-to-day necessities, including electricity bills and others. Our income from other activities is not sufficient, Mossang said. She and he

Over 200 Meiteis who crossed over to Myanmar return to Manipur: CM

More than 200 Meiteis who crossed over to neighbouring Myanmar to escape the ethnic violence in Manipur have safely returned to the state after more than three months, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Friday and lauded the role of the Army in bringing them back. More than 160 people have been killed and several hundreds injured in clashes between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur since May 3. "Relief and gratitude as 212 fellow Indian citizens (all Meiteis) who sought safety across the Myanmar border post the May 3rd unrest in Moreh town of Manipur are now safely back on Indian soil, the chief minister wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The chief minister hailed the efforts of the Army in facilitating their safe return to their hometown. "A big shout-out to the Indian Army for their dedication in bringing them home. Sincere gratitude to GOC (General Officer Commanding) Eastern Command, Lt Gen R P Kalita, GOC 3 Corps, Lt Gen HS Sahi and CO (Commanding Officer) of 5 AR, Col Rahul

H&M probes Myanmar garment factory abuses after Zara's walkout talk

Other brands continuing to source from Myanmar have also ramped up monitoring of suppliers through field offices enabling them to conduct their own inspections instead of relying on external audits

Myanmar's military-led government reduces Suu Kyi's prison sentence

Myanmar's military-led government has reduced the prison sentences of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a clemency connected to a religious ceremony, state media said Tuesday. Former President Win Myint also had his sentence reduced as part of the clemency granted to more than 7,000 prisoners. Suu Kyi, 78, is serving 33 years' imprisonment after being convicted of 19 charges her supporters and rights group say were attempts to discredit her and legitimize the 2021 army takeover while preventing her return to politics. Several of her cases are awaiting final appeals.

Missteps in Manipur may introduce dangerous dynamics in NE politics

Any demand for a separate ethnic state for the Zo people carved out of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh could rapidly worsen the security situation in India's northeast

Mizoram begins collection of biometric details of Myanmar nationals

The Mizoram government has started the process of collecting biometric details of Myanmar nationals following an instruction from the Union ministry of home affairs, an official said on Sunday. More than 30,000 Myanmar nationals have taken shelter in Mizoram since February 2021 after the Myanmar military junta staged a coup in the neighbouring country. A pilot project of recording biometric data of Myanmar nationals was launched in all the 11 districts last week, state home department officer on special duty-cum-joint secretary David H. Lalthangliana told PTI. He said the exercise was being conducted in relief camps. In April, the MHA had instructed Mizoram and Manipur to collect biometric details of illegal immigrants. In June, the ministry reminded both the states to complete the exercise by September 30. David said the exercise could not be undertaken immediately as the original format needed to be altered to collect data from Myanmar nationals. The Mizoram government had ...

Former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi transferred to state-owned residence

An NLD official who declined to be named due to security concerns told RFA Burmese: "It has been confirmed that Aung San Suu Kyi has been placed in a house in a residential area of Naypyidaw."

718 Myanmarese including 301 children entered Manipur illegally: Home Dept

Manipur government has said that at least 718 Myanmar nationals, including 301 children, have illegally entered the northeastern state last week. A statement issued by Home Department said that the illegal influx was reported on July 22 and 23 in Chandel district by Assam Rifles, the India-Myanmar border guarding force. Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi sought to know from the Assam Rifles how the Myanmarese were allowed to enter India without proper travel documents and asked the force to push them back immediately. "Report has been received from the Headquarters 28 Sector Assam Rifles that 718 fresh refugees have crossed India-Myanmar border and entered into the general area of New Lajang," Joshi said in the statement. Of the 718 Myanmarese, 209 are men, 208 are women and 301 are children. Thirteen Myanmar nationals entered Lajang area on July 22. On July 23, a total of 230 Myanmarese arrived in New Lajang, 89 in New Samtal, 143 in Yangnomphai village, 175 in Yangnomphai Saw Mill, 3

Myanmar to issue highest denomination banknote amid as economy suffers

The Central Bank of army-ruled Myanmar will issue a new banknote worth twice as much as the current highest denomination, state-run media reported Sunday, in a possible reaction to the economy becoming more unstable since the generals seized power in 2021. The reason for issuing a higher denomination note of 20,000 kyats (about $9.50) was not explained. Since the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, economic boycotts and sanctions imposed by Western nations have hurt both big businesses and ordinary people, many of whose lives have already been disrupted by civil war and the coronavirus pandemic. The issuance of new, higher denomination currency is associated in popular belief with a risk of inflation, though there isn't necessarily a link. Older Myanmar residents are especially sensitive to changes affecting the currency, recalling the sudden demonetization of banknotes in 1987 during an earlier dictatorship, which reportedly affected around 80% of the money

Myanmar burns seized drugs worth $446 mn amid rise in illicit trade

The authorities in Myanmar destroyed more than USD 446 million worth of illegal drugs seized from around the country to mark an annual international anti-drug trafficking day on Monday, police said. The drug burn came as U.N. experts warned of increases in the production of opium, heroin and methamphetamine in Myanmar, with exports threatening to expand markets in South and Southeast Asia. Myanmar has a long history of drug production linked to political and economic insecurity caused by decades of armed conflict. The country is a major producer and exporter of methamphetamine and the world's second-largest opium and heroin producer after Afghanistan, despite repeated attempts to promote alternative legal crops among poor farmers. In the country's largest city, Yangon, a pile of seized drugs and precursor chemicals worth USD 207 million was incinerated. The destroyed drugs included opium, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, kratom, ketamine and crystal meth, also known as ice. The