Inside the "Shwe Padauk Myaing" scam hub: torture and human trafficking uncovered in Myawaddy

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Major General Saw Chit-thu (left), Major General Saw Tin Win (middle) and Colonel Saw Htoo Eh-mu (right) are seen at the ceremony to officially change the name of the BGF to the KNA on January 1. A Chinese national who escaped from the Yulong Bay (aka Shwe Pi Tauk Myaing) online money laundering operation near Thae Pon village in Myawaddy township, owned by Colonel Saw Htoo Eh-mu, the son of Karen National Army (KNA) leader Major General Saw Chit-thu. Many foreigners are being tortured and forced to work in the Yulong Bay (aka Shwe Pi Tauk Myaing) online money laundering operation near Thae Pon village in Myawaddy township, according to a Chinese national who escaped from the operation. Mizzima Special Correspondent Han Htoo Zaw (Mizzima)  A Chinese survivor who recently escaped the Yulong Bay (also known as Shwe Padauk Myaing) online scam compound near Thae Pone village, Myawaddy Township, has exposed a brutal system of daily torture, extortion, and forced labour involving over ...
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Arakan Army advances on Kyaukphyu town, seizes strategic supply routes

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Mizzima

Intense fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and junta forces has escalated significantly in Kyaukphyu Township, with the AA reportedly gaining control of the critical road linking the town to the Dhanyawadi Naval Base.

Following the first phase of the junta’s election on 28 December, 2025, the AA launched a multi-front offensive targeting the Thit Poke Taung village junction, Zin Chaung, and areas surrounding the Police Battalion 32 camp. Local military sources and CDM Captain Zin Yaw report that the junta has suffered “numerous casualties and arrests” at the Thit Poke Taung junction, a strategic chokepoint now held by the AA.

As of 8 January 2026, the AA’s advance has brought several large columns close to the outskirts of Kyaukphyu town, home to billions of dollars in Chinese-funded infrastructure.

Residents report continuous artillery fire and airstrikes as the military attempts to push the AA columns back, which are now firing shells into the vicinity of the Dhanyawadi Naval Headquarters. Despite the heavy combat, a junta Y-12 support aircraft was observed landing at Kyaukphyu Airport at 3 pm today to deliver supplies to the besieged garrison.

The offensive marks a major shift in the region. While the junta reinforced Kyaukphyu with hundreds of troops and conscripts via sea in late 2025, the AA has successfully blockaded land routes, isolating the naval base from the town’s main infantry battalion camps.

With the capture of Gwa on 29 December 2024, and the recent consolidation of the Min Pyin area, the Arakan Army now controls 15 towns across Rakhine and Chin States. The group continues to press its advantage on several fronts, including Sittwe’s Kankaw Island and along the borders of Bago and Magway Regions, as it seeks to fully liberate the Rakhine coastline.

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