Disclaimer: The following is a brief summary of the top 3 stories on the Myanmar Witness radar that day for daily reactive investigations. Information is subject to change as the stories develop. The briefing is a work in progress and should be seen as a starting point for further work, research, and potential collaboration. It is by no means exhaustive and incidents where the verification work of Myanmar Witness could be useful are prioritised for inclusion. Email [email protected] to get in touch about something in one of the briefs.
22 August 2023
2 min read
Myanmar Witness
Daily Briefing from Myanmar Witness
1) Religious buildings damaged by airstrikes in Gangaw
Summary
The Irrawaddy reported that on 21 August, Buddhist religious buildings were damaged following MAF airstrikes on the village of Min Ywar (မင်းရွာ). It is reported that the incident came following clashes which saw the Min Ywar police station allegedly attacked by local PDF forces. The Irrawaddy has claimed that 5 policemen were killed during the confrontation. It is alleged that at around 0800, the village and nearby monastery were hit by heavy artillery and 5 bombs which were dropped by an MAF jet fighter.
Location
Min Ywar (မင်းရွာ), Gangaw township, Magway [22.029062, 94.093927]
Reported date
21 August
Source
The Irrawaddy – Burmese Edition
https://www.facebook.com/theirrawaddyburmese/posts/pfbid028EFB4WrDSggzfFWEJzgBXBius89JUge6zWm7Md8id9D3BmU8DtRDVXeRymj9J6F6l
Notes
Geolocated
Event 2: House burned down in Demoso
Summary
Khit Thit Media have reported that on 22 August, SAC troops burned down a house in the village of Ta Nee Lar Le (တနီးလာလဲ). A KNDF Facebook post alleged that military council forces had been stationed to the east of Ta Nee Lar Le village for several months, and had frequently burned civilian houses without encountering direct resistance.
Location
Ta Nee Lar Le (တနီးလာလဲ), Demoso township, Kayah [19.520373, 97.232137]
Reported date
22 August
Sources
Karenni Nationalities Defense Force
https://www.facebook.com/KNDF.HQ/videos/1452589572241667/
Kantarawaddy Times
https://www.facebook.com/KantarawaddyTimes/videos/714858500482098/?__tn__=%2CO
Notes
Geolocated
3) Over 30 houses destroyed in Myaing
Summary
Khit Thit Media reported that on 21 August at 0830, more than 30 houses were burned down by SAC troops in the village of Htan Bone Taw (ထန်းဘုန်းတော). It is alleged that the remaining buildings were looted for food and valuables.
Location
Htan Bone Taw (ထန်းဘုန်းတော), Myaing township, Magway [21.64038086, 94.89031219]
Reported date
21 August
Source
Khit Thit Media
https://www.facebook.com/khitthitnews/posts/pfbid0nQ9rkDjcnPXu5en7PL4ef133aohDUk4jtYLeM5Zj8KvTsvMkhdYv5aTpHP5JcMn7l