More than 1,700 child soldiers in Myanmar have been reunited with their parents, and about 800 military officers and other army personnel who recruited and used them have been punished, a defense ministry official said Thursday during a workshop in Naypyidaw to discuss the creation of a complaint mechanism to report instances of forced labour, RFA reported.

Myanmar and India have begun to jointly conduct voter registration training in Nay Pyi Taw to raise the capacity of staff working with the Election Commission's Office and all levels of sub-commissions, Xinhua reported.

The opening of the five-day training course from Jan. 14 to Jan. 18, organized by Myanmar's Union Election Commission (UEC) and Election Commission of India, was attended by UEC Chairman U Hla Thein and Senior Consultant of India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management School Dr. Noor Mohamad and trainees.

Myanmar’s military has freed all but two of 15 villagers suspected of contact with rebel forces, whom it had detained in Buthidaung township amid fighting between government soldiers and the Arakan Army (AA) in northern Rakhine state, RFA reported quoting a national lawmaker

The 13 were released after being held for one day after soldiers questioned them about possible connections to the Arakan Army and asked if they were supplying food to its soldiers, Maung Kyaw Zan, a legislator in the upper house of parliament, told RFA’s Myanmar Service.

By Soe Thu Aung

Food supplies cannot be transported through Chinese territory to over 70,000 Kachin Internally Displaced People (IDPs) staying along the Sino-Myanmar border because of a war game being conducted by the army of the People’s Republic of China.

Rev. Dr. Hkalam Samson from Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) said, “China bans our usual transport of food supplies to the IDP camps along the border. We can do nothing. Now the ban has been over two weeks so we have difficulties in supplying food such as rice and other basic foodstuffs to these camps.”

By Demoe Thway

Tanintharyi town faced food shortages after it was hit by severe flooding for the third time with rising river water levels while some people were not receiving relief supplies as they could not go to relief camps, local people said.

After the incessant rain, the water level in Tanintharyi River crossed 3’ above the danger level and authorities had to release water from the embankment built for protecting the town from flooding.