On the evening of September 22, a junta’s truck was detonated near Kanni Village, Kyaikhto Township of Mon State. The incident saw at least 25 deaths and injured five according to Khit Thit Media. Following the attack, regime’s forces carried out a shooting spree randomly and injured at least three civilians. Moreover, junta’s soldiers also mistakenly clashed with the reinforcements from their own side where two villagers on motorbike nearby got shot and killed instead according to sources on ground.
A news was spread on social media yesterday evening that some elderly folks from Putao Township of Kachin State have been detained and forced to take military training in Battalion 46. A grandson of one of the victims said junta’s lackeys lied to them there was a religious meeting and hence the elders had no choice but to follow them. At least 10 men from the same ward have been detained and some of them are above 70 years of age. Initially, this news was treated as rumors; however, later on, reliable sources including DVB news picked it up as well.
A ferry boat transporting civilians on Chindwin River between Sarlingyi and Monywa townships in Sagaing Region was attacked by junta’s forces yesterday evening around 5pm. Apparently, junta’s soldiers shouted to the ferry in the middle of the river to stop for inspection and it went unnoticed by those on board due to the loud noise. As a result, the soldiers started firing at the boat and one civilian was injured. In the same evening, reports came in from Karenni State that junta’s forces have reinforced with 400 soldiers near Demoso Township and an encounter between them and local resistance forces is imminent according to Karenni National Defense Force (KNDF). As such, locals have already fled their homes overnight once again to avoid warfare.
DVB’s interview with a social welfare volunteer on ground in Karenni State described that there are about 100,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the State that has only 300,000 population in 2014 Census data. Battles were intensified in the State even before D-Day and looks set to resume quite soon according to the interviewee. Demoso is located just 18 km away from Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State; however, it takes almost a week sometimes to transport aid from Loikaw to Demoso as security is much tightened. The interviewee added that it’s that time of the year to cultivate the lands for plantation yet it is impossible in current situation and that means the State will soon face starvation on top of warfare. Lastly, he mentioned that if a war is inevitable, every state and region must participate; otherwise, only those areas like Karenni face extreme oppression.
Another indiscriminate shooting of junta’s forces was recorded second night in a row in Mindat Town of Chin State. Regime’s soldiers were seen blasting artilleries and bullets randomly towards the southern part of Mindat and a female staff from a local ward administration office was killed. This morning around 9pm, a mother and a son were abducted following a brief back and forth firings in Hinthargone Ward in Bago Region. The incident took place when junta’s forces came to arrest Ko Sithu Kaung Myat for undisclosed reasons. His mother Daw Than Than Myint was first handcuffed and Ko Sithu Kaung Myat who was upstairs responded by shooting towards the soldiers which led to the exchange of firings. One policeman was injured in the hand and Ko Sithu Kaung Myat was brought to the hospital as he took three bullets. Evening news from Khit Thit media confirmed that Sithu Kaung Myat has passed away.
Kyikone Village of Tanze Township, Sagaing Region was set on fire for the second time by junta’s police forces last night. At least ten houses turned into ashes. This morning, the police came back to destroy the remaining houses. Another house was set alight while farm animals and pets were also killed. On their way out, two police trucks were detonated and two policemen were killed. Justice was served.
On September 22, Global Center for Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P) held an annual meeting and U Kyaw Moe Tun representing National Unity Government (NUG) was present and gave a speech. That would have gone unnoticed among Myanmar public if it weren’t for State Administration Council (SAC) who had to release a statement that condemned the international community for allowing U Kyaw Moe Tun attend the meeting. The statement also urged the international community not to interact with the ousted parallel NUG body.
Not more than 24 hours later, the US Embassy of Yangon shared a picture that Counselor Derek Chollet met with U Kyaw Moe Tun and fellow representatives of NUG. The post also mentioned “The Counselor also expressed appreciation for the NUG’s leadership and dedication to the people of Burma in the face of the horrific violence perpetrated by the Burmese military regime.” Just when SAC expects the exact opposite, the US has shown its firm stance on the side of the people of Myanmar once again. May god bless Joe Biden’s America.
