Four moderate quakes recorded in Myanmar in 24 hours; Military schools accused of being training camps

Four moderate quakes recorded in Myanmar in 24 hours

The regime Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) recorded four moderate earthquakes in Yangon, Sagaing and Mandalay regions since Monday. A 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck 10 miles (16 km) east of Sagaing’s Kalewa town on May 26, according to the DMH. It followed a magnitude 4 earthquake that hit 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Sagaing’s Mawlaik town on the same day.

In Yangon Region, the DMH recorded a 3.3 magnitude tremor 36 miles (58 km) south-southeast of Kungyangon town on the same date, May 26. It was preceded by a 4.1 magnitude earthquake — the 300th aftershock of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck on March 28, 2025 — six miles (10 km) east-southeast of Wundwin town in Mandalay Region on May 25.

The National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Social, Labour and Humanitarian Affairs also reported on the four earthquakes albeit with slightly different magnitudes. Yangon residents told DVB they felt a moderate earthquake on May 18, which the DMH recorded at a magnitude of 5.2. The March 2025 earthquake killed at least 4,477 people nationwide, according to DVB data.

Military schools accused of being training camps

Residents of Yangon Region’s Hlegu Township told DVB that very few students have enrolled in the regime’s “Youth Education Training School” No. 1, which began on May 22. Burma’s new Commander-in-Chief Ye Win Oo announced that 13 schools in Yangon and Naypyidaw, as well as other states and regions, will begin operations in the 2026-27 academic year, in June.

“It looks like a military training school. The teachers are active-duty military personnel,” one parent of a prospective student told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Basic education students wear white shirts paired with green pants or a longyi—a sarong-like Burmese garment wrapped around the waist—but the uniforms at the Youth Training School are “army green,” the parent added.

Another Hlegu resident told DVB that even military families have chosen to enroll their children in public schools rather than send them to the new Youth Training Schools. The academies are apparently designed to educate teenagers, but critics and families fear they are a mechanism for military indoctrination and forced conscription. Hlegu is located 20 miles (32 km) north of Yangon.