Over 93 minors returned to their families by regime
Sources close to the regime administration told DVB that over 93 minors – under the age of 18 – who had been forcibly conscripted into the military were returned to their families at a ceremony in Hlaing Township, Yangon Region, on Wednesday. Representatives from the U.N. Resident Coordinator’s Office, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Labor Organization (ILO), observed the handover.
The U.N. Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting in Burma filed a complaint with Naypyidaw over the forced conscription of minors, which led to the return of over 93 to their families. “There are more children stranded inside the [military training] camp’s housing but their parents are not [aware],” a source told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The regime enforced its military conscription law on Feb. 10, 2024. It stipulates that men aged 18 to 35 must serve at least two years.
A 2023 U.N. report on Children and Armed Conflict documented that pro-regime forces have forcefully conscripted, or recruited, a total of 1,102 minors. The military handed over a total of 1,150 minors to their families from 2012-2025. But only 176 were released by the regime since the 2021 military coup. In 2012, the military signed an 18-month action plan with the U.N. to prevent the forced recruitment of minors as child soldiers.
Family of Myanmar student killed in Thailand wants justice
The family of Min Hpone Sit, a student from Burma who died in a traffic accident on the campus of Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov. 18, has called for justice. The university issued condolences to the family on March 16 – four months after the student’s death. It told the family that it would investigate Min Hpone Sit’s death.
Min Hpone Sit’s brother Aung Hein Thant told DVB that he met with the university on March 12. “They offered me a scholarship. But I won’t accept it. What I want is action against those who failed to take responsibility for my brother’s death. The university and I are still negotiating,” he said.
“Universities should do what we need them to do. If they don’t, we can’t remain silent,” Thuta Soe from the student affairs committee at Mae Fah Laung University in Chiang Rai Province of northern Thailand told DVB. The family of Min Hpone Sit are pursuing legal action against the driver responsible for the traffic accident that killed Min Hpone Sit. They are also considering legal action against Assumption University.
DVB Peacock Film Festival flies to Australia
The next stop on the DVB Peacock Film Festival international tour is the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in Sydney, Australia on March 29. It will feature documentary films about the crisis in Burma since the 2021 military coup. A total of 15 documentary films will be screened.
“We hope that the people of Australia, members of parliament, and policy-makers come to understand the human rights violations and reality on-the-ground in Myanmar. We will use our voices to reach them,” said Khin Yupar, the DVB Peacock Film Festival co-organizer.
The 15 films were made by filmmakers and citizen journalists inside Burma working under precarious conditions. DVB Peacock Film Festival was launched in Thailand Dec. 8-10. This year, the films have been screened in Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, and New Zealand. For more information, go to DVB Peacock Film Festival on Facebook.
News by Region
ARAKAN—The United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) issued a statement on Wednesday rejecting regime allegations that an AA member is the ringleader of a drug trafficking network as a “vindictive political attack.” Regime media reported that it arrested 14 people and a member of the AA for drug trafficking.
Police in Yangon seized over three tons of methamphetamine and 200 kilograms of ketamine worth over 96 billion MMK ($21.9 million USD). The regime stated that it will take legal action under anti-money laundering laws to confiscate all assets belonging to the drug trafficking ring.
MAGWAY—The Yesagyo Township Information Committee announced that regime troops killed 17 civilians, as well as a member of the People’s Defence Force (PDF), and set fire to nearly 400 homes in the Yaylelkyun area of Yesagyo since Feb. 26. Yesagyo is located 133 miles (214 km) north of the region’s capital Magway.
“A 200-strong military column composed of troops from the Light Infantry Division (LID) 101 from Pakokku, Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 256, 257 and 258 from Yesagyo and pro-regime militias have been killing civilians and burning down houses,” a Yesagyo Township Information Committee spokesperson told DVB. Read more.
MANDALAY—The PDF in Nyaung-U Township claimed that 74 regime troops, as well as one member of the resistance, were killed in an attack on regime forces in Nyaung-U on March 14. Nyaung-U is located 108 miles (174 km) southwest of the region’s capital Mandalay.
“A military column with around 80 troops entered the Ngathayauk sub-township. We launched a surprise attack when they reached Htaukwa village,” a PDF spokesperson told DVB. Ngathayauk is located in Nyaung-U. The PDF added that six resistance groups were involved in the attack.
NAYPYIDAW—The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) announced that it had sold $2.2 million USD to importers of cooking oil, and other commodities, with foreign revenue from the garment sector. It has liquidated over $57 million USD of its foreign currency over the last year. The market rate for $1 USD is 4,330 MMK. The CBM rate is $1 USD at 3,596 MMK.
YANGON—The Yangon Gold Entrepreneurs Association (YGEA) set the price for one tical (16.6 grams) of gold at 5.56 million MMK. “Despite the decline of the U.S. dollar, gold prices in the global market have been soaring,” a market observer told DVB. One tical of gold has risen from 6.6 million MMK to nearly 6.8 million MMK in the local market.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,390 MMK)
A Q&A with the People’s Liberation Army General Secretary Ni Ni Kyaw. Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads & TikTok. Subscribe to us on YouTube.
