Than Lwin Khet News - English Edition (2025)

12/05/2025

Junta Bombs Three Locations in Sagaing Region, Over 25 Civilians Killed in One Day

May 12, 2025

The military council, which has extended the temporary ceasefire for another month, conducted air strikes on multiple townships in Sagaing Region on May 12, bombing at least three locations, resulting in the death of over 25 civilians, including school-age children.

On the morning of May 12, in addition to the bombing in Depayin that killed 22 civilians, including children aged 5 to 15, two more locations were bombed, causing an additional 4 civilian deaths.

Incident 1

At 9:30 AM on May 12, the military council dropped a 500-pound bomb on a school in Ohe Htain Twin village, Depayin Township, Sagaing Region. The bomb directly hit a community-run school, killing around 20 students and two teachers. According to ground sources, more than 30 people were injured.

Incident 2

In the central part of Chaung U Township, Sagaing Region, air strikes by the military council around 9 AM killed two civilians and severely injured five, as reported by Chaung U Revolution News-CRN.

Two bombing runs were conducted by fighter jets from Tantabin Air Base, resulting in the destruction of residential homes and the death of civilians and animals.

Incident 3

Around 12 PM, the military council bombed Mawlu town in Indaw Township, northern Sagaing Region, using two fighter jets and three bombs, also firing rockets. Two local men were killed, and seven were injured, according to Indaw Revolution-IR.

Since the military coup, the junta has continuously targeted civilians, especially hospitals, schools, and monasteries.
Although they declared a ceasefire for emergency earthquake relief operations, from March 28 to May 4, they conducted 282 air strikes, killing 276 civilians and injuring 456, according to a National Unity Government (NUG) statement.

Photos - Scenes after air strikes in Depayin, Chaung U, and Indaw in Sagaing Region

29/01/2025

US HALTS NEARLY ALL AID TO REFUGEE CAMPS ALONG THAI-MYANMAR BORDER

By Thanda Phyu
January 29, 2025

Healthcare services, water supply, and sanitation operations in refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border were suspended Monday following a three-month freeze on US aid, camp officials reported.

The suspension comes just days after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day halt to all foreign assistance programs except emergency food and military aid to Israel and Egypt. The sweeping measure, announced January 24, has forced the closure of critical medical facilities in the camps.

Social media images showed patients being hastily discharged from the Umpiem Mai refugee camp hospital, which had been operating with support from the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

"When they suddenly closed, all the pregnant mothers were being neglected," said Daw Dar Dar Paw, a resident of Umpiem camp. "They had to borrow money to hire cars. The drivers wouldn't even lower their prices - still charging 3,000 baht for a one-way trip."

The hospital closures have created a healthcare crisis for vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and patients with chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension.

"I was supposed to get my medication on the 30th," said the camp resident, Daw Dar Dar Paw, whose planned resettlement to a third country was recently cancelled. "Now the hospital is closed, we have no access to medicine. With third-country resettlement also suspended, the stress is overwhelming."

The IRC's suspension of water services has exacerbated existing shortages in Umpiem camp, forcing residents to spend between 150 to 200 baht monthly on water purchases.

While unable to challenge the US government's decision, camp residents are urging the UN refugee agency UNHCR to reassess the situation on the ground.

The impact of Trump's refugee policy has been immediate. Recent reports indicate that over 20 people from Umpiem camp and more than 30 Chin refugees from Malaysia were forced to turn back from airports after their resettlement programs were suspended.

More than 90,000 refugees currently reside in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, with over 11,000 in Umpiem camp alone.

Photo: Emergency evacuation of patients from hospital in Umpiem Mai refugee camp (Credit: CJ)

24/01/2025

Myanmar Judicial System amid Injustice
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Four years after the military coup, Myanmar's rule of law has been reduced to a mere puppet system controlled by the military regime. The judicial mechanism has transformed from a pillar of justice into an instrument of threat against the people.

09/10/2024

Words of Condolence to Ko Htet Wai
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October 9, 2024
The Than Lwin Khet family is deeply saddened and extends its sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the family members and all the loved ones of Ko Htet Wai (aka) Brian Wei, age 33, a former colleague of Than Lwin Khet News, who passed away on October 5.
The loss of a journalist who went above and beyond his duty to ensure the Myanmar people received accurate news is a tremendous blow to our community.

The Than Lwin Khet family acknowledges and honors Ko Htet Wai's compassionate work for his readers throughout his career in the media field, including his time collaborating with Than Lwin Khet News. His memory will be forever etched in the hearts of each of TLK colleagues.

02/02/2023

Two years on since the coup, the life of a CDM medical staff still uncertain
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Written by May Thanlwin, Brian Wei/ Than Lwin Khet News

30-years-old Aye spent one month in solitary confinement without sun or air at a jail of a border town in a neighboring country while illegally crossing the border hoping for a job opportunity in order to earn money to treat her 59-year-old father who is a cancer patient.

Aye, who refused to give her full name due to the fear of arrest, is a healthcare worker from Kachin state who joined civil disobedience movement in Myanmar when the military stage the coup about two years ago.

Failing to secure jobs in Myanmar after applying multiple times at six different hospitals in two different towns over one year period, Aye became desperate for her father medical bills. Then, she decided to hunt jobs in neighboring country by illegally crossing the border.

Aye spent last December in the solitary confinement in a foreign country’s jail.

"The private hospitals did not accept my application as there are pressure from military council," Aye explained regarding her failure of job applications.

"The military is pressuring not to allow the CDM health workers to work even at the charity clinics."

The military coup that took place on February 1, 2021, in Myanmar sparked a civil uprising as millions protested the coup. Myanmar's democracy movement is on the rise, and the movement of hundreds of thousands of civil servants walking out from offices refusing to work under the military regime also known as the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), has spread throughout the country.

Medical staffs nationwide were the initiator of CDM spreading the message across the country which then were joined by other departments such as education and railway.
Services at public hospitals have fallen after many doctors, nurses and healthcare staffs massively joined strikes in a Civil Disobedience Movement in the forefront of opposition to military rule.

About 40% of medical staffs have joined CDM in Myanmar according to CDM Medical Network that collects data on the medical staffs.

Myanmar’s health sector which has been in a state of flux since the beginning, has completely collapsed due to the military coup according to medical expert and an author Dr. Phyo Thiha.
“There will be a lot of difficulties in this part of the healthcare sector. But the army doesn't care,” he told Than Lwin Khet.
Since the coup at least 2900 people were killed and more than 17,500 were arrested by the military according to human rights organization that documents junta’s violations in Myanmar, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Within two years of the coup, 83 health workers died in Myanmar as the military crackdown on them for joining the peaceful resistance. At least 355 health workers are arrested and being detained due to their movements of opposing the military regime according to CDM Medical Network, an independent organization that collects data on the situation of CDM health workers.

“It is not wrong to say that current revolution is continuing because of CDM. Although some government hospitals and clinics have returned their operation, they still cannot provide a good standard healthcare service as they did under civilian government, said Dr. Sit Min Naing who is in charge of CDM Medical Network.

The non-violence protest of Myanmar people refusing to accept the military regime, the CDM movement was also nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize by six academics in Norway.
Many CDM staffs have fled from their homes. Some are hiding in the liberated area controlled by ethnic armed groups. Some others have illegally crossed the borders to the neighboring countries desperately looking for jobs as well as running away from the military.

Myanmar’s parallel government National Unity Government and some organizations have been supporting the livelihood of some CDM healthcare staffs, however it is still not enough for the CDM-ers to continue to survive after losing their jobs.
Aye has received a total of 300,000 MMK (about $ 140) within two years period as a contribution from her friends and a couple of organization.

Working as a healthcare worker has been a dream for Aye since she was young. After experiencing four years in work, she become more certain of her interest in the career and hoping to go back to work one day.

" I am someone who love medicine. Being a staff in healthcare staff is also my hobby and my interest. I only want to do this job."
Aye was transferred back to Myanmar by respective authorities after spending one month in jail and now still looking for jobs hoping to pay medical bills for her father.

Photo - Healthcare CDMmers are seen in a protest on February, 2021.

23/01/2023

Thousands Flee In Fear Of Junta's Airstrikes In Katha, Sagaing
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Yamin Phoo Pwint Aung, Brian

Thousands of residents have fled their homes in Katha township, Sagaing region, local residents said, as junta air strikes escalates.

Some 10,000 residents from four villages named Mo Dar Lay, Seik Thar, Nant San, and Sin Gong Daing left their homes since the military launched the airstrike on Wednesday which killed seven residents and burnt down a dozen of houses.

Myanmar has been in a political turmoil since the country’s military staged coup almost two years ago, arresting civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi.

As the military attempts to extinguish widespread opposition to its rule, it has targeted its crackdown on the young people who make up the core of the resistance.

Along with the air strike, soldiers from the 77th Infantry Division set fire to the houses in the villages, and almost 30 households were destroyed according to witnesses.

"People are injured. The planes target civilians and continuously bomb the whole night, When they see people gathering, they shoot.", a healthcare personnel told Than Lwin Khet news.

On March 2021, the revolution started in Sagaing when anti-regime protesters took up improvised fi****ms and old-fashioned hunting rifles to stop junta troops killing civilians during a crackdown in Kale.

Now, the Sagaing region has become one of the most intense battlefields for the Military council and a resistance hub.

Photo - Some houses of Katha area that were destroyed by the air strikes are seen on January, 2023

04/01/2023

Former Union Minister Thura U Aung Ko Released From Insein Prison
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The former minister of Religious Affairs and Culture, Thura U Aung Ko, who had been arrested since the February 1 coup, was released from Insein prison this morning, a family member confirmed to Than Lwin Khet News.

U Aung Ko, who was charged with 4 sections, was released from Insein Prison as a mark of the 75th anniversary of Independence Day.

He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the military junta and released after 10 months of serving his sentence.

U Aung Ko, a former parliament member of the Union Solidarity and Development Party formed by former army generals, served as Minister of Religion during the NLD government. He was also the one who disbanded the Mabatha group, an extremist pro-military religious group, which was lobbying the army with racial hatred.

07/12/2022

Former ABFSU Leader Ko Lin Htet Naing Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison
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A former central committee member of the All Burma Federation Of Student Union Ko Lin Htet Naing(aka) Ko James was sentenced to 3 years in prison by the court under the military council, said a source close to Ko James' family to Than Lwin Khet News.

Kyauktada township court under the military council sentenced Ko Lin Htet Naing to 3 years in prison under section 505(A) of the Penal Code for defamation.

"Today Kyauktada township court sentence him for section 505 (a), and he is still facing other charges for 505 (J) of the anti-terrorism law at Botahtaung district court", said a source to Than Lwin Khet News.

Ko Ling Htet Naing was arrested by the military council in June 2022 at Yangon.

06/12/2022

Nepal Students Protest Against Myanmar Students' Death Penalty
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Students from Nepal protested on December 5, in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Nepal to show against the Myanmar military's decision about the sentencing of seven Dagon University students and other Myanmar nationals to the death penalty.

Nepal students held banners written "Stop executing our friends in Myanmar", "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressors", and "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Students also said, "Reinforcing the voice for Democracy, In solidarity with those who are fighting for it including the seven Dagon University Students, we stand with all the people sentenced to death for standing for what they believe in." Due to the protest, some students were arrested by Nepal police, Nepal Students Union said.

17/11/2022

Youth Protest Military Dictatorship In Yangon
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Anti-regime protesters marched in holding a banner written: "Raise the national peacock flag high and Eradicate the military dictatorship" in Yangon as a mark of The National Day despite the tightening security by the military council on November 17, 2022.

Photo - GSC

17/11/2022

Pro-democracy Public Figures Released From Insein Prison
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Dr. Myo Nyunt, NLD central executive committee (CEC) member, famous writer Maung Thar Cho and 88th-generation students leader Ko Mya Aye, who were arrested on the first day of the coup, are released from the Insein prison this afternoon.

Dr. Myo Nyunt was charged with section 505(b), Ko Mya Aye, section 505(c), and Maung Thar Cho, section 505(a), and had been sentenced to two years in prison each by the military-ruled court in 2021.

Photos - Assistance Association for Myanmar-based Independent Journalists (AAMIJ)

17/11/2022

Coup Council Will Release Some Political Prisoners And Famous Figures Today
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Coup council is about to release well-known figures including Sean Turnell, an Australian economic adviser of the NLD government, Vicky Bowman, a former British envoy, Toru Kubota, a Japanese filmmaker, and Ko Mya Aye, 88th generation activist from the prisons under an amnesty today.

As a mark of the 102nd year of National day, the military council prepared to be released about 6,000 prisoners across the country including some political prisoners, journalists, and artists, said the military council spokesperson general Zaw Min Tun to RFA this morning.

Among those who will be released today are state Counselor Office Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe, U Than Htay, a member of the election commission, and Dr. Daw Lay Lay Maw, who was put into jail for corruption under the NLD government included.

Than Lwin Khet News - English Edition

12/05/2025

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