FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM
Wave Money agents freeze financial operations after restrictions imposed by junta
Wave Money service agents in Yangon have freezed operations due to the strict regulations imposed by the junta’s Central Bank. The CB instructed all digital financial service providers to install CCTV cameras in their shops and to record detailed personal information of every transaction. This new restriction is meant to control funding to the resistance groups. Wave Money is one of the most popular financial service providers. “I am not confortable asking my neighbors about their information and national registration cards [NRC],” said a Wave Money agent in North Okkalapa Township. A former Wave Money agent in North Dagon said small businesses owners cannot afford to install CCTV cameras. “It is difficult asking [customers] for personal information as if they were [criminals]. Since there is no CCTV [in my shop], I had to take pictures with my phone. A female user almost slapped me when I was taking a picture of her the other day. That is why I [quit my job].”
Thai garment factory sued by over 200 Burmese migrant workers
Thailand’s Sukboontip Company Limited was sued after firing 203 Burmese migrant workers on Sept. 5. The factory is located in Nakhon Pathom, 55 kms from the capital Bangkok. Ko Ye Min represents Burmese workers in Thailand. “They hold pink-work-permit cards [legal work permit] issued by the Thai government. The workers have to pay a huge amount of money to get it,” Ko Ye Min told DVB. The Burmese migrants held a protest last week outside the garment factory to demand their salaries, which was withheld by a supervisor.
News by Region
KACHIN —A shootout occurred at No.2 Police Station in Khaymar Thiri ward in Myitkyina town on Friday, according to local sources. The exact amount of casualties are unknown. Kachin state media outlets claimed that the Kachin People’s Defense Force (KPDF) was involved. Fighting between the joint forces of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the KPDF has intensified against the Burma Army.
MON —An ambulance driver from Aung Mingalar Free Funeral Service and Rescue Team was wounded in a landmine explosion in Ye town, according to Ko Ba Min, chairperson of the rescue team. “[Our] vehicle crashed after hitting a landmine and one [member of our team] was severely injured,” he said. The ambulance driver was sent to Mawlamyine Hospital. On June 9, an employee of Sittaung Funeral Service Society in Kyaikhto Township was shot and killed.
SAGAING—Three men, claiming to be PDF, were arrested for armed robbery in Indaw Township’s Narakhong village on Sept. 9. According to the local defense force Indaw Revolution (IR), the three are believed to be Burma Army troops. The identities of the three men have yet to be made public, but a motorcycle and phone were recovered from them. The Burma Army’s No. 301 Light Infantry Battalion was stationed at a monastery in Indaw Township. The three are being held at a jail in Tigyaing town.
SHAN —The Burma Army used heavy artillery in Mobye, at the crossroads of Shan and Karenni states, a spokesperson of the Mobye People’s Defense Force (PDF) told DVB. “Shelling continues and civilians [were] injured. We don’t know the exact [number of] casualties,” he added. “We seized many weapons.” The fighting between the Burma Army and the Mobye PDF began Sept. 8 and continued into Sept. 9. The Mobye PDF announced that 10 Burma Army troops were killed and 12 were wounded.
The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force announced that at least 16 military personnel were killed when its allied forces seized ammunition during the clashes in Demoso, Hpruso and Pekon townships against the Burma Army in the first week of September. A short video that Khit Thit published on Friday shows that a Burma Army fighter jet opened fire several rounds of shots over Mobye township where Burma Army personnel were killed during clashes on Thursday.
RAKHINE —The Arakan Army (AA) captured an outpost of the Burma Army’s No. (352) Light Infantry Battalion in Maungdaw township on Sept. 10, a representative stated. During the ensuing battle, an unknown number of junta troops were killed, some were captured, and weapons were seized, the AA claimed. On Aug.31, the AA captured a Burma Army outpost, located near the Bangladesh border. The junta has expanded its military presence in northern Rakhine State, and Chin’s Paletwa township, in recent weeks. This has led to fighting between the two forces.
A landmine was detonated by a man in Thamin Khara Village, Minbya Township, on Sept. 11. Aung Tun Phyu, 38, stepped on the landmine on his way to work netting for crabs, according to social relief workers. “Both legs were amputated. He has been sent to Mrauk-U District Hospital as an emergency patient,” Ann Thar Gyi said. The accidental detonation of landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) has increased in Rakhine and Chin states. In 2022, 10 locals died and 30 others were injured in similar incidents across the region.
A Burma Army officer, and a Border Guard member, stationed at Baya Taung in Rathedaung Township defected to the Arakan Army on Sep. 6, according to the AA. “They brought security with them whenever they went shopping,” a villager told DVB. The border guard station is located at a crossroads of May Yu Taung Kyaw and Rathedaung Angumaw-Buthidaung roads that connect the villages of Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships. The AA arrested Border Guard personnel near May Yu Taung during clashes in 2019, according to locals.
TANINTHARYI —Two members of the Dawei Youth Revolutionary Movement Strike Committee were arrested in Dawei town on Sept. 9 and 10, according to the committee. “Three mobile phones and some tools that were used during the strike were seized. I don’t know where they were taken,” a member told DVB. DYRMSC is a resistance group that cooperates with the Coalition Strike Committee – Dawei.
Thirty political prisoners were released from Myeik Prison on Sept. 9, including the poet Yu Paing. Twenty-four men and six women were among those released. The 30 were arrested in March 2021. Others released from Myeik Prison complained that prisoners harassed them and that officials forced them to work. Over 100 out of the 500 jailed at Myeik Prison for protesting against the military coup have been released.