MYANMAR: Bago Resistance Frees Hundreds of Survivors as Evidence of Junta Massacre Emerges

Posted by Asia Views | Mar 13, 2026 | 0 |

Irrawaddy-Mar 11

A joint resistance force has rescued more than 300 civilians who were being held hostage by regime troops following a mass killing in Bago Region’s Nyaunglebin Township, the civilian National Unity Government (NUG)’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday. Units from the People’s Defense Force (PDF) Bago Command and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) conducted the two-day rescue mission in Yei Twin Gone village tract on Saturday and Sunday, a PDF fighter told The Irrawaddy. The PDF and KNLA serve as the armed wings of the NUG and Karen National Union (KNU), respectively. The rescue was launched after regime forces killed around 40 Yei Twin Gone villagers and detained hundreds more during raids following an early-morning airstrike on March 5, according to the NUG. Rescued hostages said junta soldiers ordered villagers to lie on the ground and threatened to shoot them if they tried to escape. NUG aerial footage released on Monday appears to show around 25 villagers lying face-down on the ground as 10 villagers dig a grave nearby for bodies wrapped in blankets. “The footage was recorded on March 5. The junta ordered the villagers to dig graves for the victims,” a PDF Bago District Battalion 2 spokesperson said. Resistance forces struck back overnight on March 7, killing a dozen junta soldiers and wounding 20 others, according to the spokesperson. Nine PDF fighters and two KNLA members lost their lives during the rescue mission. The NUG’s statement did not clarify whether the civilian casualties occurred during the initial airstrike or the ground assault that followed. More than 20 women and children were among the dead, according to local reports. The mass killing of civilians was condemned as a crime against humanity by the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN), the US Campaign for Burma (USCB) and the Overseas Irrawaddy Association (OIA). On Thursday, the groups issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations and the international community, calling for action against the junta along with emergency humanitarian aid and protection for the affected communities. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/bago-resistance-frees-hundreds-of-survivors-as-evidence-of-junta-massacre-emerges.html

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

MYANMAR: Bago Resistance Frees Hundreds of Survivors as Evidence of Junta Massacre Emerges

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