Ethnic Karen guerrillas in Myanmar leave a town that army lost 2 weeks ago as rival group holds sway
Guerrilla fighters from the main ethnic Karen fighting force battling Myanmarโs military government have withdrawn from the eastern border town of Myawaddy two weeks after forcing the army to give up its defense.
Junta's foes woo ethnic allies with new Myanmar constitution
Anti-coup protesters run to avoid military forces during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar on Wednesday March 31, 2021. (AP Photo)YANGON โ Opponents of Myanmarโs military government declared the countryโs 2008 constitution void and put forward an interim replacement charter late Wednesday in a major political challenge to the ruling junta. The moves, while more symbolic than practical, could help woo the country's armed ethnic militias to ally themselves with the mass protest movement against the military's seizure of power in February. The ceasefire announcement came after a flurry of combat with at least two armed ethnic minority organizations that operate on the country's borders. Ceasefires between the ethnic militias and central government forces have always been fragile, and the ethnic minority forces had no immediate reaction to the announcement.
Myanmar junta deepens violence with new air attacks in east
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)MAE SAM LAEP โ The military launched more airstrikes Tuesday in eastern Myanmar after earlier attacks forced thousands of ethnic Karen to flee into Thailand and further escalating violence two months after the junta seized power. The U.S. earlier suspended a trade deal and imposed sanctions on junta leaders as well as restricted business with military holding companies. Tuesday's air raids in eastern Myanmar killed six civilians and wounded 11, said Saw Taw Nee, head of the KNU's foreign affairs department. AdProtests against the junta continued in several Myanmar cities Tuesday despite its lethal crackdown that killed more than 100 people on Saturday alone. They said on Monday, however, that Thai soldiers had begun to force people to return to Myanmar.
Thousands flee Myanmar airstrikes, complicating crisis
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)YANGON โ Thai soldiers began sending back some of the thousands of people who have fled a series of airstrikes by the military in neighboring Myanmar, people familiar with the matter said Monday. But Thai officials denied that as the insecurity on the border added a new dimension to an already volatile crisis set off by a coup in Myanmar. But later, three people with knowledge of the matter said Thai soldiers had begun to force people to return to Myanmar. In one border area, Thai soldiers refused to let journalists or curious locals approach or speak to those who had fled. Video shot Sunday showed a group of villagers, including many young children, resting in a forest clearing inside Myanmar after fleeing their homes.
In Myanmar's hinterland, army uproots ethnic Karen villagers
In this photo released by the Free Burma Rangers, members of the humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers carry out medical checkups on villagers in the northern Karen State, Myanmar Feb. 25, 2021. (Free Burma Rangers via AP)BANGKOK โ In the jungles of southeast Myanmar, the army was shooting and otherwise oppressing civilians long before last monthโs military coup. In the countryโs remote southeast, an army offensive has driven as many as 8,000 ethnic Karen people to flee their homes in what aid groups say is the worst upheaval there for nearly 10 years. But it also is a reminder of the brutal force Myanmar's army has long used against civilians, and in particular the country's ethnic minorities. The Karen long ago learned the brutal nature of the military, independent analyst David Mathieson told The Associated Press.
TribCast: Ken Paxton's legal woes continue
The Texas Tribune Tribcast for Feb. 12, 2021. Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune(Audio unavailable. Click here to listen on texastribune.org.) On this week's TribCast, Matthew speaks with Kate, Karen and Mitchell about Attorney General Ken Paxton's latest legal problems, the vaccine rollout and the politics of energy in Biden-era Texas.
TribCast: The coronavirus vaccine arrives in Texas
Holly Ainsworth, a nursing intern at the University of Texas, administered a COVID-19 vaccine to Nurse Stephanie Vasquez on Dec 15, 2020. Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune(Audio unavailable. Click here to listen on texastribune.org.) In this weeks' podcast, Matthew speaks with Karen, Ross and Alex about the coronavirus vaccine and the Electoral College vote in Texas.