World Archives - Page 3 of 215 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

A forlorn father

Editor2 weeks ago01 mins

Just over a decade after the dramatic downfall of the Chinese Communist Party leader Bo Xilai, a populist princeling rival of Xi Jinping who was ousted and jailed for corruption and murder, his son Bo Guagua emerged from a long public absence when he arrived in Taiwan for his wedding. Guagua, who was once known as a playboy who partied with celebrities and drove Italian sports cars while his father was the CCP boss of Chongqing, is set to marry a Taiwanese woman named Hsu Hui Yu. Hsu’s grandfather was a prominent member of the Kuomintang, the CCP’s Chinese civil war foe, in a ceremony that has created a stir on the island. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Vietnam’s Politburo disciplines former parliament chairman

Editor2 weeks ago03 mins

Vietnam’s Politburo has disciplined former National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue for violations in office, the Tuoi Tre news site reported on Friday. The Communist Party’s top body ruled that Hue violated party and state regulations, particularly in the “blazing furnace” fight against corruption and failed to set an example while head of parliament, as a Politburo member, and as secretary of the National Assembly’s party unit. The Politburo also sanctioned former Transport Minister Nguyen Van The for violations in office. It said former President Vo Van Thuong was also at fault but wouldn’t be disciplined while undergoing medical treatment. Thuong was forced to step down as president in March. Hue was made to resign the National Assembly chairmanship in May. The stepped down as transport minister in Oct. 2022. Some political analysts argue that the “blazing furnace,” spearheaded by former Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong – and taken up by his successor, To Lam, on Trong’s death on July 19 – is a way for Vietnam’s top leader to get rid of potential competitors. The general secretary is considered the most powerful of the “four pillars” which include the president, prime minister and parliament chairperson. Lam filled a dual role as general secretary and president until Luong Cuong became president on Oct. 21. Cuong is seen by some analysts as a “place filler” president ahead of the 2026 National Congress, which selects Politburo members, effectively deciding who will be elected to the four top government positions. Edited by Mike Firn. RELATED STORIES Activists call on Vietnam’s top leader to honor rights commitment Vietnam land scandal involved government leaders, former minister says Vietnam’s parliament names Luong Cuong president We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Children make up nearly 40% of Myanmar’s 3.4 million displaced: UN

Editor2 weeks ago07 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Children make up nearly 40% of the more than 3.4 million people displaced in Myanmar due to the civil war, UNICEF said Thursday. The findings from United Nations Children’s Fund came as an organization that monitors conflict in Myanmar said the ruling junta and affiliated groups have killed more than 670 children since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat, sparking the conflict. In a statement on Thursday — a day after World Children’s Day — UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban said that the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is “reaching a critical inflection point,” with escalating conflict and climate shocks “putting children and families at unprecedented risk.” He said that approximately 1 million people have been affected by the country’s war, which was sparked amid public opposition to the military takeover, and devastation caused by late September’s Cyclone Yagi — Southeast Asia’s worst storm of the year. Chaiban said that during a recent trip to Myanmar’s embattled Kachin state, he saw children “cut off from vital services, including healthcare and education, and suffering from the effects of violence and displacement.” “[I] saw firsthand how vulnerable children and other civilians are in conflict-affected areas and the urgent need to uphold international humanitarian law to protect them from such brutal attacks,” he said. RELATED STORIES Myanmar junta airstrike kills children playing by a church, group says Over a dozen children missing after Myanmar boat accident Myanmar tops grim world ranking of landmine victims Chaiban noted that minors account for 32% of the more than 1,000 people injured and killed by landmines and other explosive devices since the start of the conflict. “The increasing use of deadly weapons in civilian areas, including airstrikes and landmines hitting homes, hospitals, and schools, has severely restricted the already limited safe spaces for children, robbing them of their right to safety and security,” he said, adding that “the situation is dire.” Chaiban called for all stakeholders in Myanmar to guarantee safe and unhindered aid, especially for children and families in conflict zones, to remove administrative barriers and ensure minimum operating standards and to protect children from grave violations. “International humanitarian law must be upheld, with a focus on protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure – including schools and hospitals – and ensuring safe passage for those fleeing from violence,” he said. Additionally, he urged the international community to increase its support for the country’s children through funding and advocacy. “The cost of inaction is far too high — Myanmar’s children cannot afford to wait,” he said. Hundreds of children killed Also on Thursday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma reported that, as of Nov. 20, the junta and its affiliate groups had killed at least 671 children in Myanmar since the coup nearly four years ago. The group said that the number showed a year-on-year increase in child mortality rates, attributable to the conflict. In 2021, AAPP said, 101 children under the age of 18 were reported killed, followed by 136 the following year. By 2023, the number had increased to 208 and, by the end of 2024, had reached 226 child fatalities. In one of the worst incidents since the coup, the junta bombed Konlaw village in Kachin state’s Momauk township on Nov. 15, killing nine displaced people, including seven children, the group said. Amid an escalating toll of child casualties caused by airstrikes, Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, the shadow National Unity Government’s Minister of Women, Youth, and Children’s Affairs, called for urgent measures to ban the sale of aviation fuel to Myanmar’s military. “We urgently request the cessation of aircraft fuel sales to the military regime, as it is being used to carry out brutal attacks that result in the killing of children,” she said during remarks delivered at a World Children’s Day event in Myanmar on Wednesday. Attempts by RFA to reach junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun for comment on the situation facing children in Myanmar went unanswered Thursday. According to the AAPP, junta authorities have killed at least 5,974 civilians since the military coup. Translated by Kalyar Lwin. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Myanmar’s Kachin insurgents take control of their border with China

Editor2 weeks ago06 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. The most powerful insurgent group in northern Myanmar had captured the last crossing in its region on the border with China in defiance of Chinese efforts to press it and other Myanmar rebel forces to make peace with the junta that seized power in 2021. The Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, has been fighting for self-determination in Myanmar’s northernmost Kachin state on and off for decades and has made significant advances against the military over the past year. KIA and allied fighters launched a final push for Kan Paik Ti town, 75 kilometers (46 miles) east of the state capital, Myitkyina, early on Wednesday and captured it by around 7 p.m., a resident and a source close to the KIA said. “The junta soldiers fled to the border fence or to the Chinese side,” said a town resident who declined to be identified for safety reasons. “Employees of the junta administration have also been fleeing from the border gate to China.” Junta forces initially sent an aircraft to fire at insurgent positions but the town was quiet on Thursday, the resident said. The source close to the KIA said junta forces had launched attacks in other areas after the fall of Kan Paik Ti. Residents had no information about casualties in the latest fighting. Kan Paik Ti town on the China-Myanmar border in Kachin state on Nov. 20, 2024. RFA tried to reach Kachin state’s junta spokesperson, Moe Min Thein, and the KIA’s information officer, Naw Bu, for information but neither responded by time of the publication. The KIA and allied forces in northeastern, western and eastern Myanmar have made stunning gains over the past year, putting the army under the most severe pressure it has faced since shortly after independence from Britain in 1948. But the insurgents’ success has alarmed giant neighbor China, which has extensive economic interests in Myanmar, including energy pipelines running up from the Indian Ocean and mining projects. RELATED STORIES Residents in Myanmar feel the crunch as trade with China shuts down Myanmar junta chief seeks China’s help on border stability Fresh Chinese support may not be enough to save Myanmar junta China has thrown its support behind the junta, promising to back an election next year that the junta hopes will bolster its legitimacy, and putting pressure on the KIA and other insurgent groups to respond positively to junta offers of talks. The junta leader, Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, renewed a call to insurgent forces to talk peace while on a visit to China on Nov. 6, telling Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang that stability was crucial for economic development and trade. But the insurgents have dismissed the junta’s offer as a trick and reject the planned election as a sham when Myanmar’s most popular politician, Aung San Suu Kyi, and hundreds of other opponents of military rule are in prison. Over the past year, the KIA has captured jade and rare earth mines that export to China, and both sides have at different times sealed the border, partly to put economic pressure on the other side. China recently closed the border to civilians seeking shelter from fighting and has also shut off supplies reaching KIA-controlled areas leading to shortages of fuel and medicine. The KIA responded by suspending exports of rare earths to China, and the group now controls every border crossing through which the minerals vital to a range of Chinese manufacturing pass. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Burmese. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Tibetan environmentalist released after serving nearly 15 years in prison

Editor2 weeks ago03 mins

Read original story in Tibetan A prominent Tibetan art collector and environmental activist who was sentenced to prison in 2010 has been released after serving nearly 15 years amid deteriorating health and is expected to remain under strict surveillance, three sources told Radio Free Asia. Karma Samdrub, 56, was arrested by Chinese authorities in January 2010 and sentenced by the Yangi County Court in Xinjiang later that year on trumped up charges of excavating ancient tombs and robbing cultural artifacts, despite having been cleared of all charges in a 1998 investigation. He was released from prison in Xinjiang’s Shaya County on Monday, according to the three sources, who spoke to RFA on the condition of anonymity for security reasons. In photos taken just after his release, the once well-built Tibetan businessman is seen needing the support of at least two to aid in his walking. “He is now suffering from spinal and back-related health issues and needs assistance to even walk due to prolonged mistreatment, torture and prison labor in the past 15 years,” one of the sources told RFA. Karma Samdrub, center, reunites with family and friends following his release from prison on Nov. 18, 2024. (Citizen Photo) Chime Namgyal received a two-year sentence on charges related to his conservationist work with Rinchen Samdrup. One of the three sources who spoke to RFA said that the two brothers were among the family members, friends and acquaintances who welcomed Karma Samdrup home this week. As part of his 2010 sentence, Samdrub will be deprived of all political rights for the next five years. This means that his civil and political freedoms will be restricted, including the right to the freedom of assembly and speech, as well as the right to hold a position in various organizations. Additional reporting by Tsering Namgyal. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Edited by Tenzin Pema, Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Briton, 2 Australians in intensive care after suspected alcohol poisoning in Laos

Editor2 weeks ago08 mins

BANGKOK – One British and two Australian tourists are seriously ill after drinking alcohol suspected of being tainted with poisonous methanol in a tourist town in Laos, after two young Danish women died, hospital sources told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday. The British tourist is in intensive care in a hospital in the Lao capital, Vientiane, while the two Australians are in hospital in neighboring Thailand, the sources said. As many as nine other tourists were ill, media reported. All of them were believed to have been in the Lao town of Vang Vieng, a favorite destination for backpackers in Southeast Asia. The Lao government said it had not identified what killed the two Danish women and made the others sick. “We acknowledged the incident but we do not have the autopsy and investigation results yet,” said an official at the Ministry of Public Security who declined to be identified, given the sensitivity of the matter. RFA previously reported that tourists got sick after a late-night drinking session on Nov. 12, according to sources in Laos who declined to be identified. A member of staff at the Kasemrad International Hospital Vientiane, said a tourist was admitted to the hospital last week. “The British national is in ICU,” the female staff member told RFA, referring to the hospital’s intensive care unit. She declined to give further details about the condition or gender of the patient. Two Australians, Holly Bowles and her friend, Bianca Jones, both 19, were in serious condition in Thailand – one in hospital in Bangkok and the other in the town of Udon Thani, near the border with Laos, Australian media reported. A member of staff at the Bangkok hospital did not deny it was treating one of the tourists but declined to identify her or give details of her condition. Australia’s 9News quoted Bowles’ father, Shaun, as saying his daughter was still fighting for her life. “Our daughter remains in the intensive care unit, in a critical condition. She’s on life support,” he said. Jones’ family said in a statement carried by Australian networks on Wednesday that she remained in intensive care in Udon Thani and they had received no update on her condition. “This is every parent’s nightmare and we want to ensure no other family is forced to endure the anguish we are going through,” the family said. The two best friends had been on a “dream getaway,” the family said in an earlier statement. Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, Nov. 19, 2024. ‘Profit over lives’ An official at the No. 103 Military Hospital in Vientiane told RFA on Wednesday the two unidentified Danish women had died of severe poisoning. “The [first] woman passed away on the first day she was transferred from Vang Vieng, having breathing difficulties,” the official said. “The second woman was able to travel by herself in a car but finally succumbed.” She said many other patients were referred to hospital elsewhere. Most of the sick tourists – who included Danish and Swedish nationals – had been staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in the town, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, reported. RFA spoke to Duong Van Huan, an owner of the hostel, who said that the poisoning did not occur at his bar. “I don’t know much of what happened,” he said “They went to the bar and came back … I only sent them to the hospital … I don’t know which bar they went to – Vang Vieng has lots of them.” A foreign businessman in Vang Vieng told RFA he thought there needed to be an international inquiry. “From my opinion, this needs a lot of investigation by local and foreign officials,” he said. “The ones who are accountable will get what they deserve and send a very clear message to all bars and hostels that they should never make a small extra profit over lives.” Police told RFA Lao they are investigating whether the source of the illness was methanol, a clear liquid that is often illegally added to alcohol as a cheaper alternative to ethanol. Even a small amount of methanol can be fatal. A tourist took to a Laos Backpacker group on Facebook to post a warning. “Urgent – please avoid all local spirits,” the tourist said. “Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars. Just avoid them as so not worth it. 6 of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.” An official at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok declined to comment. Edited by Mike Firn We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Five years on, PolyU protesters say they were defending freedoms

Editor3 weeks ago010 mins

Five years after riot police besieged Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University and trapped protesters fought back with catapults and Molotov cocktails, four people who were there say they were trying to stand up for their promised rights and freedoms in the face of ongoing political encroachment from Beijing. The 10-day siege of PolyU began on Nov. 18, 2019, after around 1,000 protesters occupied the university as part of an ongoing series of actions to achieve the movement’s key demands: fully democratic elections; the withdrawal of plans to allow extradition to mainland China; greater official and police accountability; and an amnesty for detained protesters. The protesters were then trapped on campus as riot police encircled the area, prompting nearly 100,000 people to turn out to battle riot police across Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and other parts of the Kowloon peninsula. Four young people who were among the besieged protesters spoke to RFA Cantonese on the fifth anniversary of the siege, which ended Nov. 19, 2019, and proved to be one of the last major standoffs between black-clad protesters and riot police after months of clashes sparked by plans to allow extradition to mainland China. Protesters are sprayed with blue liquid from a water cannon during clashes with police outside Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Nov. 17, 2019. He said many young protesters were motivated by a desire to burn their home city to the ground rather than acquiesce in its transformation into another Chinese city under Communist Party rule. “Nowadays, the Chinese Communist Party is no longer hiding its authoritarian tendencies, and has been sanctioned by the international community, while the Hong Kong economy declines by the day,” Kai said. “This shows that our idea that we would all burn together was right on the money,” he said. Around 1,300 people were arrested, with around 300 sent to hospital for injuries related to water cannon blast, tear gas, and rubber bullets, as protesters wielding Molotov cocktails, catapults and other makeshift weapons from behind barricades beat back repeated attempts by riot police to advance into the university campus. Small groups of protesters continued to make desperate bids for freedom throughout the siege, many of them only to end up being arrested and beaten bloody by police. Police also deployed tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets against a crowd of thousands trying to push through towards Poly U from Jordan district, with hundreds forming human chains to pass bricks, umbrellas, and other supplies to front-line fighters. “I took part in a lot of protest-related activities from June [of that year] onwards, although I never considered myself a front-line fighter,” a former protester living in the United Kingdom who gave only the pseudonym Kit for fear of reprisals, told RFA Cantonese in a recent interview. “But I felt that if I wasn’t prepared to take it further, then we really would lose the rule of law in Hong Kong.” Protesters leave the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus to surrender to police, in Hong Kong, Nov. 19, 2019. “What impressed me most was that some of the protesters used a homemade catapult to launch Molotov cocktails, which set fire to the police armored vehicle, forcing it to retreat,” he said. “Everyone cheered when that happened.” “Actually, the situation inside PolyU was total chaos, with a lot of misinformation coming in, and nobody really knew what to do,” he said. Tin said he had fled Hong Kong and wound up in Japan after traveling to several other countries first. “I’ve had good and bad experiences over the last five years, but I’ve survived,” he said. A former protester now living in Germany who gave only the nickname Hei for fear of reprisals said he went to PolyU on Nov. 17 to try to persuade his fellow protesters to leave while they still could. Before he knew it, he was trapped inside. “I wanted to persuade them to leave, because the situation was critical, with helicopters flying overhead,” Hei said. “But they refused to leave.” Hei never thought he’d be stuck there for as long as he was. “When it became clear at around 9.30 that evening that those of us left inside weren’t going to be able to leave, things got pretty dark,” he said. “One guy told us to make a written statement pledging not to commit suicide.” So he stayed behind to resist the advance of the riot police. “The police offensive was really intense,” he said. “I was on the platform of A Core for the entire night.” Pro-democracy lawmakers stand amid items left behind by protestors in Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Nov. 26, 2019. “Just below us were the frontline fighters, and the police water cannon truck, which sprayed us on the platform with blue water from time to time,” Hei said. “Then at about 6.00 p.m. on the 18th, the police suddenly launched an offensive and fired large numbers of tear gas rounds and rubber bullets from a high altitude at the Core A platform.” “I opened my umbrella and squatted down next to a tree, and the bullets kept cracking on the umbrella,” he said. “We lost the position pretty quickly, but I was able to make it back to PolyU luckily.” Inside, rumors were swirling that the police would burst in to arrest everyone, so Hei managed to escape by following a lawyer who had come in to try to help the young people inside. He had a lucky escape. Anyone arrested during the siege was eventually charged with “rioting,” with some receiving jail terms of up to 10 years. “They only took my ID details,” said Hei, who wasn’t arrested, and who later left Hong Kong for Germany. He said the siege taught him how hard it is to stand up to an authoritarian regime. “But I have no regrets, because anyone with a conscience or any sense of justice would have chosen to stand up,” he…

Myanmar military steps up airstrikes in Shan state, Mandalay; dozens of casualties

Editor3 weeks ago07 mins

Myanmar military airstrikes in northern Shan state and Mandalay region have killed about 30 civilians over the past week, an insurgent spokeswoman and residents said, as the military intensifies its attacks in a bid to re-capture territory lost over the past year. Ethnic minority guerrilla groups and their pro-democracy allies went on the offensive this time last year, achieving unprecedented gains against the military junta that seized power in an early 2021 coup and raising questions about the long-term sustainability of military rule. But the military has said it is intent on recovering lost territory and anti-junta forces are expecting offensives as the army takes advantage of the dry season now beginning, when it can send its trucks along dried-out roads into remote, rebel-held areas. At the same time, the air force is increasing its raids on areas under insurgent control. A spokeswoman for the Shan state-based Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, ethnic minority insurgent force said Kutkai town in northern Shan state, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of the city of Mandalay, was among the towns hit hard in recent days. “Since November 12, military council airstrikes have killed over 30 civilians and injured 46,” said Lway Yay Oo, spokesperson for the TNLA. “More than 30 houses have been destroyed in the attacks. The military council has primarily targeted densely populated areas, including buildings such as shops where civilians tend to gather.” RFA tried to contact the main military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, but he did not answer his telephone. Human rights groups and analysts say the Myanmar military has a long record of attacking civilians as part of its anti-insurgency strategy known as the “four cuts”, aimed at depriving rebel forces of food, funds, information and recruits. But a former military officer and political analyst said it was inevitable that the military would use its air power and it was not deliberately targeting civilians. “In war, unfortunately, casualties are inevitable. Cutting off the enemy’s communication lines is extremely challenging. The side with air superiority will naturally use it, that’s how it works… [but] we’ve never seen civilian casualties on this scale before,” said the analyst, who declined to be identified as talking to the media. ‘We’re not safe’ A Kutkai resident told Radio Free Asia that the air force dropped bombs near Yay Htwat Oo Garden Market and a church on Sunday night . “A two-month-old baby, his mother and an elderly grandmother were killed instantly,” said the Kutkai resident, who declined to be identified because of security fears. Ten people were wounded, seven of them critically, the resident said, adding: “The airstrike caused widespread destruction, with houses, shops and cars blown apart. The area targeted is densely populated.” “We’ve dug bunkers, but by the time we hear the sound of planes and try to get to the bunker, the bombs have already fallen. How can we feel safe? No matter how much we try to protect ourselves, they are deliberately targeting us. We’re not safe,” said the Kutkai resident. The TNLA-controlled towns of Nawnghkio and Mongngawt, in Shan state, and Mogoke, in the neighboring Mandalay region had also been attacked by the air force over the past week, residents there said. Captain Zin Yaw, a former military officer who has joined the opposition, told RFA that the military has been relentlessly bombing areas controlled by allied insurgent forces to keep them on the back foot, while the army had set its sites on retaking the town of Lashio, which allied rebel fighters captured on Aug. 3 in one of their most significant victories. “The military council is attempting to advance into Lashio from Mongyai and Tangyan,” said Zin Yaw. Mongyai is about 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Lashio and Tangyan is about 85 kilometers (53 miles) m to the southeast. “It appears they are trying to hinder the Kokang and Ta’ang forces from preparing for further military action, aiming to render them incapable of mounting an offensive,” he said, referring to another rebel force, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, by the name of the Kokang region where it is based. The MNDAA holds Lashio. Edited by RFA Staff and Kiana Duncan. RELATED STORIES Perhaps it would be better if Myanmar’s civil war became a ‘forgotten conflict’ Fresh Chinese support may not be enough to save Myanmar junta Nearly 200 schools in Myanmar hit by junta air strikes since military coup We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Leader of rebel army detained in China’s Yunnan province

Editor3 weeks ago02 mins

The leader of an ethnic rebel army was being held under house arrest in China’s Yunnan province in the latest move by Beijing to pressure it to withdraw from Lashio, northern Shan state’s biggest city, a source close to the army told Radio Free Asia. The insurgent Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, captured the junta’s without incident after MNDAA forces had taken over most of the city. China has also cut off shipments of fuel, medicine and food items through its border into the MNDAA-controlled areas in Shan state. In September, the MNDAA said it had cut ties with Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government. It said it would work with China to bring peace, but days later the junta bombed Lashio and peace talks never took place. Beijing has recently stepped up its support for the military junta, and earlier this month, junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing traveled to Kunming – the capital of Yunnan – for talks with provincial officials. RFA has reached out via email to the Chinese Embassy in Yangon and the MNDAA’s information team for comments but neither immediately responded. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Myanmar junta airstrike kills children playing by a church, group says

Editor3 weeks ago06 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar’s air force bombed a church where displaced people were sheltering near the border with China killing nine of them including children, days after the junta chief reiterated a call for peace talks, an insurgent group official told Radio Free Asia. Fighting in Myanmar is expected to intensify in coming weeks as forces of the junta that seized power in 2021 take advantage of the dry season to try to recapture territory lost to guerrilla groups over the past year, and despite efforts by neighboring China to promote dialogue. In northern Myanmar’s Kachin state, fighters from the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, have made significant gains this year, capturing numerous military positions as well as jade and rare earth mines and most crossings on the border with China. The military has responded with airstrikes, which insurgents and rights groups say are often targeted at civilians in a bid by the military to scare off support for the rebels. A junta plane dropped a bomb on a church in Kachin state’s Konlaw village on Friday, next to a camp for people displaced by fighting, killing nine of them, said a KIA information officer, Naw Bu said. “It hit kids from the camp who were playing in the area at the time, the camp itself and the church,” Naw Bu said. “In just one family, the father, the mother, and all their kids, six people in total, died,” he said, adding that nine people were killed in all. He said there was no instigation for the attack, adding that an attack on displaced civilians and a religious building was a war crime. Eleven people were wounded, seven critically, and were being treated at a hospital near Lai Zar on the Chinese border, he said. RFA tried to telephone military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment but he did not answer. Many Kachin people are Christian as are members of some of the other ethnic minorities in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar’s hilly border lands. The KIA captured Kung Law, which is to the east of the town of Bhamo, in late March in fighting that displaced about 3,000 people. The deadly bombing comes days after the junta chief, Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, reiterated during a visit to China a call for peace talks with the rebel forces fighting for self-determination and to end military rule. Anti-junta forces have dismissed Min Aung Hlaing’s call as aimed at appeasing China, which is pressing for an end to the bloody turmoil in its south neighbor that threatens its economic interests there, including energy pipelines running up from the Indian Ocean and mining projects. Insurgents say they expect offensives against them in different parts of the country this dry season, which usually begins in November and enables the military to advance with its heavy vehicles over poor roads. Naw Bu identified those killed in the airstrike as Sut Zai Li, 5, May Sen Pan, 7, Gum Seng Maw, 9, Tsawm San, 10, Mung Htoi Awng, 11, Sa Ra Seng, 11 Myu Jet Awn, 13, Lazum Lung Wa, 35 and Mun Mai 36. From January to October, airstrikes killed 540 people nationwide, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners human rights group said in a report on Nov. 6. RELATED STORIES China denies entry to Myanmar nationals trapped by battle Residents in Myanmar feel the crunch as trade with China shuts down Fresh Chinese support may not be enough to save Myanmar junta Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Category: World