Myanmar Roundup: Drones, airport attack, telecom fraud

Ban on drones

The local authorities in the Yangon Region of Myanmar have issued local orders to prohibit the sale of drones and accessories, citing attacks by People’s Defence Forces (PDF) groups in schools, office buildings, and public places, local media Eleven Myanmar reported. "That announcement is true. It was released on November 18. If you want to shoot at bridge construction sites and donations, you must apply for permission from the relevant authorities. If you don't comply with it, we will take action under Section 188," local authorities said.

Airport attack

Myanmar’s Kalay Airport in the Sagaing Region was attacked by a drop bomb and drone attacks followed. ''On the Sagaing side, there was a drone attack on the runway of the Kalay Airport, followed by an attack,'' a spokesperson for the State Administration Council (SAC) said on November 21. According to Eleven Myanmar, armed groups took two vessels belonging to the Myanmar Inland Water Transport and orchestrated attacks that targeted public areas rather than military areas.

Telecom fraud

Myanmar has handed over 31,000 telecom fraud suspects to China since a crackdown on online scams in September, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security announced on November 21. The suspects include 63 alleged masterminds and 1,531 fugitives, Chinese media Xinhua reported. According to Xinhua, authorities in Muse, northern Myanmar on November 18 transferred over 571 telecom fraud suspects to Chinese authorities.

Repatriated Thais

Thai nationals trapped in northern Myanmar have returned to Thailand, amid a surge in fighting between junta troops and armed ethnic-minority groups near the Chinese border. Tens of thousands have been displaced across Myanmar as the military government battles a coordinated offensive by three ethnic-minority groups and pro-democracy fighters, Reuters reported. According to Thai authorities, some of the people who were stranded in Myanmar were "victims of human trafficking" while others may have had ties to gangs who commit telecom fraud.

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Myanmar has called for the safety of patients and healthcare workers in conflict areas of Myanmar, following drone attacks at Pang Hseng Hospital on 18 November, the MSF reported. The MSF in a statement said “Yesterday, our team in Shan received reports that Pang Hseng Hospital, a facility that MSF has supported in the past, was hit by a drone strike. Thankfully no injuries were reported, but this is only because the hospital recently stopped functioning when hostilities escalated at the end of October.”