Palaung villagers flee as Burmese army detains 300
The Burmese units accused various residents of having links to the TNLA or of protecting its soldiers.
The Burmese units accused various residents of having links to the TNLA or of protecting its soldiers.
Local MP says MOC-1 launched artillery strikes towards a village outside the town amid clashes with TNLA.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Shan
Kyaukme has been for many years a peaceful town, its ethnic Shan and Ta’ang residents co-existing in relative harmony. But armed conflict is threatening to tear the communities apart.
Arakan Lead Story News Peace Process
Maung Aye was sentenced to two years in prison, while the other two were given three years each.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Shan
Tensions are running high between the Ta’ang and Shan communities in the Palaung area as more violence occurs.
Armed groups that signed last year’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement call the Burmese military’s refusal to negotiate with some non-signatory groups “detrimental” to the country’s peace effort.
Sai Tun Win, an NLD MP in the Shan State parliament, said several local villagers in Kyaukme Township had been abducted and tortured by Burmese troops amid recent fighting in the region.
The Burmese army is continuing its intervention into an ongoing conflict between two ethnic rebel groups in Shan State, according to government media.
The Burmese army has launched assaults on Ta’ang rebel positions in Burma’s northeast in response to parliamentary calls for an intervention to end fighting between rebels that has displaced thousands.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Peace Process
The Arakan Army, Ta’ang Nationalities Liberation and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army have welcomed the Burmese government’s announcement that they are invited to the upcoming peace conference.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Peace Process
The spokesperson for the President’s Office confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the agenda has been agreed for the upcoming talks.
The Burmese military dismissed independent and social media reports claiming the deceased were local villagers who had been abducted by the Burmese army.
Conflict Ethnic issues Lead Story News Peace Process
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, says non-ceasefire groups are welcome to join future peace talks, as armed groups push for more inclusive negotiations.
Conflict Ethnic issues Lead Story News
Two ethnic Ta’ang civil society organisations have voiced concerns about ethnic tensions with Shan communities following a protest in northern Shan State on the weekend.
Conflict Ethnic issues Lead Story News
Civilians continue to bear the burden of war in northern Shan State, as one man is injured and three homes destroyed during fighting on Wednesday.
Conflict Ethnic issues Lead Story News
The TNLA denied the charge, suggesting that the village might have been shelled by Burmese forces providing artillery support for SSA-South troops.
The TNLA claimed it clashed with the SSA-South three times on Sunday, with each side accusing the other of being the aggressor.
Conflict Ethnic issues Lead Story News
“The RCSS has expanded troop presences in Namhkan, Kyaukme, Lashio and Kutkai – bolstering their numbers to about 1,000 in the area of fighting alone.”
Analysis Ethnic issues Lead Story Peace Process
Insofar as the Union government’s agenda for ethnic reconciliation is concerned, there is little doubt that the north, where the most powerful rebel armies operate, holds the key to a permanent negotiated settlement.
The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) must one day unite under the same banner, according to the leader of the former, who said that such a merger was ultimately necessary given Burma’s current political situation.
A major member of the United Nationalities Federal Council, the Shan State Progressive Party, has submitted a resignation letter to the council, with the ethnic armed group on Sunday revealing its plans to leave the coalition.
Soldiers from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) stand accused of abducting a man in the Hsenwi Township village of Kham Tain on Wednesday evening, releasing him only after a local abbot paid more than 2 million kyats (US$1,460) to the ethnic armed group.
The move came after UNFC delegates refused to speak to journalists about the conference, and barred media from entering the meeting room.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Peace Process
The dwindling alliance of ethnic armed groups joined under the United Nationalities Federal Council banner convenes a conference in Thailand chaired by a leader of one of its former members, the influential Kachin Independence Army.
State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi opened a second round of peace talks under her government here in the capital on Wednesday, predicting that the coming days would bring “intense discussions, exchanges of views, debates and difficult decisions.”
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Peace Process
A negotiating committee representing seven ethnic armed groups in northern Burma says it intends to attend next week’s Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw, which is being organised by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.
Conflict Lead Story News Peace Process
“We are seeing renewed fighting with the Tatmadaw in Namhkam, Kutkai and Namtu townships,” said the TNLA spokesperson.
Lead Story Mon News Peace Process
Mon political parties, monks and members of civil society in the southeastern state are urging the New Mon State Party, a Mon ethnic armed group, to sign Burma’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.
Several ethnic armed groups that are not signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) have decided they will not sign the accord and instead are looking to engage in alternative-track peace talks under the leadership of the United Wa State Army.
The UNFC says that by branding the Northern Alliance as ‘terrorists’, the Tatmadaw has derailed peace talks.