28th April, 2021 #Day87

 There are reports of heavy casualties of the junta troops on the Kachin front line. The KIA Brigade 5 attacked and seized a military base in Momauk Township, Bhamo District, killing several soldiers, including 13 high-ranking officers, according to Khit Thit Media. One lieutenant colonel, two majors, four captains, and six lieutenants were among the dead and many of them are 46th batch of the defence service academy. According to DVB, about 40 armed members of junta and two soldiers of the KIA were killed in yesterday's clashes in Bhamo Township. At around 7 am today, the KIA stormed the 58th Infantry Battalion in Waingmaw Township, injuring many junta troops. In northern Shan State, seven members of the junta’s 99th Brigade were killed in an KIA ambush. The KIA spokesman Colonel Naw Bu told Myitkyina News that the fighting was intense in Momauk Township for five days in a row. Netizens have expressed gratitude to the KIA for retaliating against the junta for killing more than 700 people and expressing deep sorrow over the two dead. In addition, they commended that the junta troops should have never left their camps as they die every time they leave the camps.

Locals told Myanmar Now that nearly 30 soldiers were killed in a four-day fighting between the junta troops and the Chinland Defense Force (Mindat) formed by locals with Chin traditional hunting rifles in Mindat, Chin State. The military council negotiated with the CDF through community and religious leaders, and last night they agreed to exchange seven detainees with 30 soldiers trapped 30 miles near Mindat town. Negotiations are set to resume tomorrow, and CDF is urging the military not to take up arms in the city, to stay in its camp, to release five detainees immediately, the BBC reported.

The NUG government is providing assistance to Karen refugees, said NUG Minister for Humanitarian and Disaster Management Dr Win Myat Aye. According to its Facebook page, it has donated 86 lakhs worth of food to more than 500 refugees. In the past, it has also helped people affected by the fire in Yangon. Aid workers said more than 10,000 people have been displaced by the continuous airstrikes since March, according to Khit Thit Media. Four student unions have called on NUG to prepare quickly for an armed struggle. RFA reports that members of the youth group called Gen Z Burma, who took part in the protests, are on the Thai-Burmese border with the help of the Free Burma Rangers. They include well-known social media influencers who have been charged with Section 505 (a).

The military council has announced that it will drop the charges under Section 505 (a) if the CDM civil servants return to work. The Irrawaddy reports that the CDM movement, with more than 200,000 participants, has stalled almost all government mechanisms. The junta-run MRTV has announced that Wai Moe Naing, a prominent protest leader of Monwya, will be charged under around 10 sections, including connection with an unlawful association, according to his statement made in custody. A 22-year-old university student was shot dead while going to petrol station by motorbike at around 10 last night in Tedim, Chin State. He was the first person to be killed by the junta troops in Tedim. A local resident told RFA that Sergeant Aung Aung, who was fighting the military council with the Tamu Civil Security Forces after joining a CDM, was shot dead in a shootout yesterday in Tamu, Sagaing Region. There are many reports of bomb blasts across the country including at the office of the Deputy Mayor of Mandalay, Bhamo township, Insein Market, South Okkalapa Police Station in Yangon. Khit Thit Media reported that some policemen were injured in the bombing at the South Okkalapa police station.

Six US senators from both two parties have called on the federal government to impose sanctions on the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) under the Myanmar Ministry of Energy. MOGE is a major source of revenue for the military council in the oil and gas industry, earning $ 1.1 billion a year through investments by energy giants such as US Chevron and French Total, the statement said. A few days ago, more than 400 local civil society organizations have issued open letter calling for action against MOGE and its companies. About 80 percent of Myanmar’s natural gas is exported to Thailand and China, and according to the United Nations, about $ 3.3 billion, equivalent to 20 percent of Myanmar’s total exports last year, came from oil and gas industries, Irrawaddy reported.