4th May, 2021 #day93

 

The junta is constantly targeting and pressuring the independent media. On May 3, the military council sent a letter to the 74 News Media, a Kachin State-based media outlet, suspending its publication. However, the media said on its social media page that they would not comply with the order and would continue to cover the news. The military council has been criticized for deliberately suppressing the media in war-torn Kachin State. It arbitrarily arrested the reporter of the Myitkyina News and revoked its license. Yuki Kitazumi, a Japanese freelance journalist detained at his home in Yangon on the night of April 18, has been charged with spreading false news and could face up to three years in prison if convicted, the BBC reports. He is a former correspondent for the Tokyo-based Nikkei Asia and became the first foreign correspondent to be prosecuted since the coup. To date, 73 journalists have been arrested and 43 are still in prisons.

A CDF member told Myanmar Now that four members of the military were killed in an ambush in Hakha, Chin State. A total of eight soldiers were killed and about 10 wounded since the beginning of the shootings on May 2. The CDF has demanded the immediate release of nearly 60 locals detained in Hakha by 4 pm on May 2. According to Myanmar Now, eight military vehicles were hit by a homemade landmine on the Htee Lin-Gangaw highway en route to Chin State yesterday afternoon, and no casualties have been reported.

The joint force of the military and paramilitaries used villagers as human shields during a clash with the RCSS/SSA in southern Shan State, according to DVB news referring to the statement of the Thai-based Shan Human Rights Foundation. The joint force arrested villagers and looted their properties, the statement said. According to Shan News, 44 houses were set on fire on the evening of May 2 in Manli Village, Namtu Township, northern Shan State, where fighting between the RCSS and the TNLA/SSPP was taking place. Locals said they did not know which group was behind this as everyone fled the village. The RCSS and TNLA accused each other on social media.

Fighting broke out near the town of Kutkai in Shan State between the junta troops and the Northern Alliance: TNLA, MNDAA, and KIA, BBC reported. None of them have not yet commented on the incident. There are rumors circulating on social media that the KIO will reward 50 lakhs ($ 3,200) to any KIA soldier who can shoot down a military fighter jet or helicopter. Yesterday, three junta pilots were killed when the KIA shot down a helicopter gunship. Khit Thit Media reported that a police major was killed and another was seriously injured in a shooting at a police station in Mansi yesterday. Residents of Mansi are fleeing the town in fear of the junta’s retaliation. According to the Karen Information Centre, the Karen State’s Border Guard Force (BGF) is infiltrating the KNU Brigade 5 area, where heavy fighting is taking place. It is reported that the junta is using the BGF due to insufficient troops and food shortages at their outposts. The Karen State’s BGF is made up of former members of the DKBA who broke away from the KNU in 1990s.

The junta has changed its curfew from 8 pm to 4 am to 10 pm to 4 am today. Telenor announced that it had lost about $ 470 million between January and March. However, Eleven Media referring the Jakarta Post reported that the company would not close down its business in Myanmar and would focus on the safety of about 750 employees and restoring internet access for its customers.