The military has deployed hundreds of troops to forcibly clear areas marked for a Russia-backed special economic zone in the country’s south, burning villages and sealing off surrounding tracts of land, according to resistance fighters and a local activist with direct knowledge.
The offensive around the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) – that includes a planned deep-sea port and power plant on the Andaman Sea – is the clearest sign yet that Myanmar’s military-backed government is willing to use force to revive a project touted as a strategic alternative to the Strait of Malacca.
The push also coincides with a diplomatic charm offensive: junta chief-turned-President Min Aung Hlaing pitched Dawei as a potential gateway to South and West Asia during a landmark visit to Thailand this month and discussed the project again this week in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Since July, the military has pumped hundreds of soldiers into the southern Tanintharyi Region, bordering Thailand, where Dawei is located, sparking battles with local resistance groups that have been forced to retreat, according to sources.
A resistance fighter from the Dawei District No.1 battalion operating under the shadow National Unity Government, said troops had torched houses in at least three villages and killed three aid workers who were supporting displaced communities.
The three aid workers were detained and killed after encountering an advancing military column in Yebyu Township on July 9, local civil society group Magga Initiative said. — Reuters
