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Airstrike targets insurgent meeting in Myanmar, 16 killed

June 11, 2024/in News

Activists suspect junta forces got a tip-off about a meeting of anti-junta groups. A Myanmar military airstrike on a meeting of anti-junta activists in a monastery in central Myanmar killed 16 people, including two monks, and wounded 22 people, witnesses told Radio Free Asia. The bloody raid in Let Pan Tan village was the latest […]

Myanmar officials evict 500 people who were living in their Mandalay shops

June 11, 2024/in News

Residents of more than 100 shops, clinics and offices in the area were given 15 days to vacate. Military junta authorities have evicted more than 500 people who were living in shops near Mandalay’s sports stadium, saying that shop owners and their family members never had permission to reside in stalls purchased more than 20 […]

Airstrike targets insurgent meeting in Myanmar, 16 killed

June 11, 2024/in News

Myanmar officials evict 500 people who were living in their Mandalay shops

June 11, 2024/in News

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Airstrike targets insurgent meeting in Myanmar, 16 killed

June 11, 2024/in News

Activists suspect junta forces got a tip-off about a meeting of anti-junta groups.

A Myanmar military airstrike on a meeting of anti-junta activists in a monastery in central Myanmar killed 16 people, including two monks, and wounded 22 people, witnesses told Radio Free Asia.

The bloody raid in Let Pan Tan village was the latest in the central region of Sagaing, which has been rocked by violence since the military overthrew an elected government in 2021 triggering an insurgency by members of the majority Burman community in Myanmar’s heartland.

Activists taking up arms against military rule have formed militias called People’s Defense Forces, linking up with ethnic minority insurgent groups that have been battling for self-determination for decades in remote borderlands.

One witness close to a People’s Defense Force said the military must have received a tip-off that the meeting was taking place on Saturday.

“The bombardment was carried out while the people were in the meeting due to leaked information. How would they know from so far away?” said the source who declined to be identified for security reasons.

“So it’s clear we should consider that there are spies and informers in the village or near the village, who are secretly collecting information about us.”

RFA was not able to contact People’s Defense Force groups in the region. Sagaing’s junta spokesperson, Nyunt Win Aung, did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.

While junta troops have been pushed back in several parts of the country since allied anti-junta fighters went on the offensive late last year, the military can unleash devastating force in seconds with its jets.

Anti-junta forces have no air power with the exception of drones, and little in the way of anti-aircraft weapon systems to face the threat.

On June 3, a junta airstrike on a wedding in Sagaing’s Mingin township killed 33 people and wounded 64.

RFA has not been able to verify whether the civilians were among the casualties in Let Pan Tan, where numerous buildings, including a second monastery, were damaged, the witnesses said.

Military swoop for suspects

Nine people at the meeting were killed on the spot and seven died later of their wounds, residents said.

It was impossible to identify some of the victims, another witness, who also declined to be identified, told RFA.

“The bodies were badly damaged and disfigured,” said the witness, adding that several victims were decapitated. “There are quite a lot of people who got severely hurt and had their arms or legs severed (in the blast). There isn’t enough medicine for everyone.”

Early on Sunday, a convoy of junta troops raided Let Pan Tan village and arrested about 10 people, including women, the witness said. RFA was not able to verify that information.

According to compiled data by the RFA, junta attacks have killed 662 civilians and injured 1,492 more nationwide from January to May 2024.

RFA News

Myanmar officials evict 500 people who were living in their Mandalay shops

June 11, 2024/in News

Residents of more than 100 shops, clinics and offices in the area were given 15 days to vacate.

Military junta authorities have evicted more than 500 people who were living in shops near Mandalay’s sports stadium, saying that shop owners and their family members never had permission to reside in stalls purchased more than 20 years ago.

The shop owners were forced out without any offers of an alternate piece of land or any compensation, according to a shop owner, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons.

“They evicted us without providing any support,” he told Radio Free Asia. “It’s very hurtful.”

The shops in the area surrounding Ba Htoo Stadium were sold in 2003 through private contracts with Myanmar’s Road Management Department. A two-story shop measuring 15 x 30 feet (4.5 x 9 meters) sold for over 160,000 kyats (US$57) at the time.

Shop owners still had to pay more than 50,000 kyats (US$18) per month – plus an additional 10 percent – to the Road Management Department to rent the land under shops.

Because the area is in Mandalay’s downtown area, the value of a shop has increased to about 300 million kyats (US$106,000), according to one resident who didn’t want to be identified out of security concerns.

ENG_BUR_STADIUM SHOPS_06102024.2.jpg — The residential shops situated on 71st St., between 30th and 31st St., near Ba Htoo Stadium, in Chanayethazan township, Mandalay, were forcibly removed on June 7, 2024. (Citizen journalist)

Road Management Department officials issued notices on May 24 that cited the 1955 Government Housing Act, which mandates eviction for living without permission. Residents of more than 100 shops, clinics and offices in the area were given 15 days to vacate.

Several residents told RFA that everyone moved out before June 7 out of fear that junta troops would forcibly remove them if they didn’t comply by the specified date.

A second shop owner told RFA that there was nothing in the original sales contract about how long shop owners could live there.

The lack of clear language about residence in the contracts and the government’s interpretation of the 1955 law has been “deceitful,” he said.

Those who can afford it have rented houses, but some people are dependent on monasteries, the first shop owner said.

“It has forced us to transition from owning our homes to living as renters,” he said. “The displaced include employees, retirees, the elderly and the disabled. Students had already registered for this academic year, making their education difficult due to this upheaval.”

RFA couldn’t immediately reach Thein Htay, the junta’s Minister of Economy for the Mandalay region, for comment on the evictions.

RFA News

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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