The latest iteration of the “21st Century Panglong Conference” concluded on Monday with participants signing 14 points of agreement as the high-level peace confab came to a close in the capital Naypyidaw.

The 14 points — in sectors related to politics, economics, social matters, and land/environmental issues — will be added onto the Union Accord first inked at the last round of Panglong negotiations, bringing to 51 the number of points agreed in a document that is intended to help bring an end to the world’s longest-running civil war.

Flash flooding continues to wreak havoc across Burma this week claiming three lives and leaving a path of destruction.

Three people have been killed in the floods in Magwe Division, central Burma and an estimated 8000 people across the country have lost their homes or experienced damages, said Phyu Le Le Tun, director of the Disaster Risk Management Department.

By NANG MYA NADI / DVB

More than 500 villagers have fled their homes in northern Shan State’s Namtu Township in recent days after armed clashes broke out between two of the major ethnic armies in the region – the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

Sai Seng Thein, the administrator of Wein Nang village in Namtu, said hostilities began on 4 May when the SSPP and TNLA forces clashed, causing two civilian injuries due to artillery fire.

By Ye Mon

TANAI TOWNSHIP, Kachin State — Although the Burmese military does not want camps established for internal displaced persons (IDPs) who recently fled their homes due to clashes between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army, a cabinet official for the National League for Democracy-led government has insisted that camps should be set up if necessary.

By YE MON

Some 5,000 Kachin villagers, who abandoned their homes one month ago due to the proximity of armed clashes between Burmese government forces and the Kachin Independence army (KIA), are still sheltering in churches and makeshift camps as monsoon season rapidly approaches.

Speaking to DVB on Tuesday, Father Steven Sut Awng from the Catholic church in Tanhpre village, Myitkyina Township, said that some 1,100 displaced persons (IDPs) from Injangyang have been sheltering in his church since 26 April, while many others are camped out at the nearby Baptist church.