Tag: Myanmar

Myanmar’s junta announced that it will extend its 20-day ceasefire until April 30 to aid in the country’s earthquake recovery, state-run broadcaster MRTV reported. A devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Mandalay on March 28, resulting in over 3,700 deaths and injuring more than 5,000 people. In response to the disaster, the junta announced a temporary ceasefire to facilitate relief efforts. The exiled civilian National Unity Government, or NUG, and several ethnic armed groups declared similar pauses in hostilities. However, such ceasefires have offered little protection to civilians as military…

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar’s junta re-entered a northern city near the Chinese border on Tuesday abandoned by a rebel army after months of occupation, residents told Radio Free Asia. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, is one of many insurgent groups fighting the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup for autonomy and democracy. It controls parts of northern Shan state and until recently, the long-embattled town of Lashio. Frequent conflict and airstrikes have forced much of the population to flee and…

Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese. A three-day onslaught of junta-launched airstrikes across four major areas spanning much of Myanmar’s central plains killed 50 people and injured nearly 80, sources told Radio Free Asia. Myanmar’s junta, which seized power in 2021, faces resistance from dozens of militias seeking autonomy. In response to insurgent attacks, the military has bombed villages suspected of sheltering rebels, often killing dozens of civilians. In the latest assaults, the junta killed 20 people in Singu township’s Kyi Tauk Pauk village and Thabeikkyin township’s Leik…

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar’s exiled civilian government held a meeting with the chair of the regional bloc ASEAN for the first time, amid mounting international pressure over the bloc’s engagement with the war-torn country’s military regime. The virtual talks between delegates from the National Unity Government, or NUG, and Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian Prime Minister who also serves as the bloc’s chair, focused on Myanmar’s worsening humanitarian crisis, compounded by ongoing civil conflict as well as a recent devastating earthquake, according to the NUG. “What…

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese UPDATED April 17, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET BANGKOK – Myanmar’s junta chief held talks in Thailand on Thursday with Malaysia’s prime minister that were expected to focus on peace efforts and quake relief as his military government released almost 5,000 prisoners for its Buddhist New Year’s amnesty. Only about 100 political prisoners were freed in the amnesty, an activist group said. Prominent political detainees – such as former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi – remain behind bars or under house…

MAE SOT, Thailand – When Shwe Lin heard that an auditing firm was visiting the garment factory where she worked in the Thai border town of Mae Sot to inspect labor conditions there, she found it hard to feel hopeful. The factory prepared pre-selected workers and exchanged rehearsed questions and answers with the auditing company, said the Burmese migrant worker, who requested an alias for her safety. She told Radio Free Asia that workers were forced to lie about factory policies about sick days, holidays and overtime. They’re also pressured…

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Amid mounting pressure from Beijing, a powerful rebel army in northern Myanmar is preparing to withdraw from the conflict-hit city of Lashio by April 22, residents in rebel-held territory told Radio Free Asia. The withdrawal by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, follows a high-level meeting earlier this month between representatives of the Chinese government, Myanmar’s military junta, and MNDAA leaders. Sources close to the group say the move is part of ongoing peace negotiations being brokered by China in…

UPDATED April 15, 2025, at 2:50 p.m. ET Myanmar junta forces have unleashed a series of Burmese New Year airstrikes on Buddhist monasteries, killing 11 people during festive days when people traditionally visit religious sites to make merit. The latest and deadliest attack came Tuesday, when six civilians were killed and at least 25 others, including 10 monks, were wounded at Kanni village monastery in Kawkareik Township, Kayin (Karen) State, residents of the village told RFA Burmese. The wounded are being treated at Mawlamyine General Hospital, said one resident, who…

MAE SOT, Thailand – When Aung Hein Thant’s brother went to a hospital in Thailand following a serious head injury from a motorcycle accident, he faced an unexpected and troubling situation: the hospital required him to show his passport and pay a deposit of US$5,800 before providing treatment. Facing a series of delays, he ultimately died from his injuries. “I thought at first everyone should have equal rights,” Aung Hein Thant told RFA Burmese, calling the hospital’s actions “discriminatory.” Thailand’s constitution guarantees patients’ fundamental rights to medical care without discrimination…

Myanmar’s junta bombed a monastery in the country’s northwest on Saturday, killing five people, including children, just one day before it publicly announced that a recent earthquake had destroyed almost 10,000 religious buildings across the country. The airstrike in Tabayin township, Sagaing region, injured nine others and reduced a monastery to rubble, according to the Tabayin Brotherhood Organization, which supports displaced civilians. “Around 1 p.m., a military plane opened fire on the monastery outside Kya Khat village,” a member of the organization said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to…