Airstrikes kill 27 civilians in Sagaing Region since March 20; NLD party member in Bago Region murdered

Airstrikes kill 27 civilians in Sagaing Region since March 20

At least 27 civilians have been killed in airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in Sagaing Region’s Myaung, Ayardaw, Kani, and Katha townships since Friday, residents told DVB. The total number of injured was not disclosed. The four towns are located 25-223 miles (40-359 km) northeast, north and southeast of the Sagaing Region capital Monywa.

Four civilians in Sagaing’s Myaung Township were killed by four bombs dropped by a regime Air Force jet on March 23. A People’s Defence Force (PDF) member in Myaung told DVB that the number of casualties could rise as many civilians were trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings and at least 40 homes burned down as a result of the strikes.

At least six residents were killed by six airstrikes in Sagaing’s Ayardaw Township by two regime Air Force jets on March 22. Residents of Kani Township told DVB that at least four civilians were injured by airstrikes that hit a Buddhist monastery and a school on March 21. At least 17 civilians were killed and 20 others were injured by airstrikes at a monastery in Katha on March 20, residents told DVB.

New passport law slammed for rights violations

Myint Thein Aung, a lawyer and the general secretary of the Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC), told DVB that a new passport law adopted on March 17 “violates” human rights by barring former prisoners released under regime amnesties from obtaining passports to travel abroad until their original sentences expire.

The new passport law grants the Passport Issuing Authority under the regime’s Ministry of Home Affairs the power to deny passports to anyone deemed “harmful to the state’s security and interests.” Lawyers told DVB that such provisions are not clearly defined in legal terms which could lead to increased corruption.

It also requires anyone applying for a new passport or renewing an existing one to present a Unique Identity (UID) card—a 10-digit number issued by the regime since late 2023. Migrants in Thailand told DVB this raises concerns, as it could burden Burma nationals who have to return to the country to obtain a UID in order to extend their passports.

NLD party member in Bago Region murdered at home

The Chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s Women’s Affairs Committee in Gyobingauk Township, Bago Region, was killed by an unidentified gunman at her home in the town’s Thegon Ward on Monday, a source told DVB on condition of anonymity. Tin Tin Nu, 55, was at home with her 11-year-old daughter during the attack, but the child was unharmed. The motive behind the murder remains unknown.

The source added that the attack was carried out by a pro-military militia in Bago. Tin Tin Nu survived a previous attack at her family home last July, but no further details were shared. The NLD states that 102 of its members, including two members of parliament (MPs) elected in 2020, have been killed by groups linked to the military. An additional 1,905 NLD members, including 144 MPs, have been arrested since 2021.

Tin Tin Nu’s husband Tin Htwe served as the NLD vice chairperson of Bago’s Gyobingauk Township up until the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. He was elected to represent Constituency No. 2 in the Bago Region parliament during the 2020 election. Tin Htwe has remained in hiding ever since, according to the source. Gyobingauk is located 83 miles (133 km) northwest of the region’s capital Bago.