Myanmar’s authorities will free around 700 prisoners from Yangon’s Insein jail on Wednesday, prison chief Zaw Zaw told Reuters, in a release that is expected to include some of the thousands of people detained for opposing military rule. The prison chief said he did not have a list of those …
Read More »Myanmar army ‘tightens grip’ on multibillion jade trade: Report
Coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing’s son implicated in the importation of dynamite used in open pit jade mines. Myanmar’s military has further tightened its grip on the country’s jade trade, using the industry to finance the February 1 coup that plunged the country into turmoil, a new report released …
Read More »Myanmar army clashes with anti-junta militia in Mandalay city
Myanmar security forces backed by armoured vehicles clashed on Tuesday with a newly formed militia group in the second-biggest city of Mandalay, according to social media posts from the group and media reports.
Read More »Myanmar junta leader leaves for Russia conference, second trip abroad since coup
Myanmar’s junta leader has flown out of the country to attend a conference in Moscow, state media reported on Sunday, his second trip abroad since seizing power in February.
Read More »Flower protests in Myanmar for Suu Kyi’s 76th birthday
Supporters of Myanmar’s detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi wore flowers in their hair and paraded with them at street demonstrations on Saturday as she marked her 76th birthday locked up by the generals who overthrew her. Protests have been held almost daily in Myanmar since Suu Kyi was ousted …
Read More »Refugees in India, elsewhere hit hard by COVID-19 impact -rights report
At least 200,000 refugees are among the worst affected by India’s COVID-19 outbreak as they have no access to welfare schemes or free healthcare, a report by an international consortium of rights groups said on Wednesday. “The stateless in India have not received economic relief packages provided by the government…they …
Read More »HRW demands probe into UN ‘improper’ sharing of Rohingya data
Human Rights Watch (HRW) demands an investigation into the United Nations’ data collection on Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh, saying the UN refugee agency has “improperly” shared the information with authorities in Myanmar. The UN Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has registered hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps …
Read More »US journalist released from detention in Myanmar – lawyer
US journalist Nathan Maung has been released from detention in Myanmar and is due to fly out of the country on Tuesday, his lawyer Tin Zar Oo told Reuters. A court dismissed the case against the editor at Kamayut Media after the plaintiff withdrew the lawsuit, Tin Zar Oo said …
Read More »Suu Kyi’s trial set to start in Myanmar, junta rejects UN rights chief’s statement
The trial of Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was set to start on Monday, as the junta that overthrew her elected government rejected criticism by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights over its use of deadly force against protesters. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the junta …
Read More »India: Fire rips through Rohingya camp, leaving hundreds homeless
Hundreds of Rohingya rendered homeless after a massive fire razes Rohingya camp in the Madanpur Khadar area of Delhi. A massive fire has destroyed a Rohingya refugee camp in the Indian capital, New Delhi, leaving hundreds of people homeless. The blaze broke out at about 11:30 pm on Saturday and …
Read More »UN warns of ‘mass deaths’ in Myanmar after 100,000 flee fighting
UN says people fleeing military’s ‘brutal, indiscriminate attacks’ in eastern Kayah are in dire need of food and water. A United Nations rights expert has warned of “mass deaths from starvation, disease, and exposure” in eastern Myanmar after “brutal, indiscriminate attacks” by the military forced tens of thousands of people …
Read More »Rohingya refugee boat lands in Indonesia after 113-day voyage
A boat carrying dozens of Rohingya refugees that set sail in February but had been adrift in the Andaman Sea with engine failure has landed on an Indonesian island after a voyage of more than 100 days, a human rights official said. The vessel sailed on Feb. 11 from Cox’s …
Read More »Clashes spread to Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady delta, several killed
At least three people were killed in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady River delta region on Saturday as the military junta’s forces clashed with villagers, local media and residents said, while fighting was also reported in northern and eastern Myanmar. The army has struggled to impose control since the army returned to power …
Read More »Boat carrying Rohingya washes up in Indonesia
A total of 81 refugees on Idaman Island are staying in emergency tents and have been provided with food and water by locals as they await their fate. A boat carrying 81 Rohingya refugees has washed ashore at an uninhabited island in Indonesia after drifting for more than 100 days …
Read More »Indonesia says ASEAN must appoint Myanmar envoy immediately
Indonesia’s foreign minister called on Wednesday on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to immediately name an envoy to troubled Myanmar, more than a month after the bloc agreed on steps to try to end turmoil after a military coup. ASEAN is leading the main diplomatic effort on Myanmar …
Read More »Rohingya protest against living conditions on Bangladesh island
Police say 4,000 refugees demonstrated when senior UN officials arrived on remote Bhasan Char island to visit the settlement. Several thousand Rohingya refugees have staged “unruly” protests against living conditions on a cyclone-prone island off Bangladesh where they were moved from vast camps on the mainland, police said. Since December, …
Read More »US calls for immediate release of American journalist in Myanmar
The United States said on Friday it was deeply concerned by the detention of a U.S. citizen who was working as a journalist in Myanmar and pressed the military government for his immediate release. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said consular officers from the U.S. Embassy in Yangon …
Read More »Fighting erupts in Myanmar town on Chinese border
A gun battle erupted on Sunday between Myanmar security forces and an alliance of armed ethnic groups opposed to February’s coup, at a town on the border with China, Myanmar media said. The fighting at Muse, one of the main crossing points to China, was the latest to hit Myanmar …
Read More »Bangladesh puts Rohingya camps under lockdown after COVID spike
Crowded camps that are home to hundreds of thousands of refugees placed under lockdown after the alarming spread of the coronavirus. Bangladesh authorities have imposed a lockdown in five Rohingya refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh after an alarming spread of the coronavirus, officials said. The shutdown will initially last for …
Read More »Myanmar clashes leave several anti-coup rebels dead
Chinland Defence Force, an anti-junta armed group made up of civilians, says six of its fighters were killed in Mindat town of western Chin state during an attack on the military. Six opposition rebels have been killed after days of clashes in Myanmar, an anti-junta defence force made up of …
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