Kanbalu (also spelt Kantbalu[1]) is a town in Shwebo District, Sagaing Division, in Myanmar. Located in the north-western part of the county, the town is the administrative seat for Kanbalu Township. Kanbalu is on the main Burmese north-south railroad between Sagaing and Myitkyina.[1] As of 2014, it had a population of 25,022[2]
History
editIts railyards were bombed by the Allies during World War II.[3] During the Myanmar Civil War, it was attacked by resistance forces, who torched the local police station.[4]
Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, an ultranationalist monk U Wasawa established a Pyusawhti militia in Hmaw Taw village to launch offensives against the region's People's Defense Force. Several villages in Kantbalu have been turned into Pyusawhti bases, with U Warthawa reportedly forcing locals to join the militias. Initially armed with homemade weapons, around 900 Pyusawhti members in Kantbalu have since been supplied with modern BA-63 (G-3) rifles, MA-1 assault rifles, and carbines. His influence has spread to Kanbalu township, Taze, and Kyunhla—key towns known for their military and Union Solidarity and Development Party support.[5]
Economy
editThe military-run Myanmar Economic Corporation operates two factories, manufacturing sugar and menthol, in Kantbalu.[6] The sugar factory is a joint venture with Thai-owned Sutech Engineering.[7] Kanbalu is also home to the 30 megawatts (40,000 hp) Thaphanseik hydropower plant on the Mu River, a $20-million project financed by the China Import and Export Bank.[8]
Notes
edit- ^ a b "Map of Sagaing Division" Archived 2010-03-28 at the Wayback Machine Myanmar's NET
- ^ "Myanmar: Regions, States, Major Cities & Towns - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ Carter, Kit C. and Mueller, Robert (1980) The Army Air Forces in World War II: combat chronology, 1941-1945 Arno Press, New York, pages 489, 493, ISBN 0-405-12151-2
- ^ Maung, Thura (2023-11-03). "Resistance force overruns police station in Kanbalu, Sagaing Region". Myanmar Now. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
- ^ "Pro-Myanmar Junta Militias, Nationalist Monks Forcibly Recruiting Villagers in Sagaing". The Irrawaddy. November 2, 2022.
- ^ Maung Aung Myoe (2009). Building the Tatmadaw: Myanmar Armed Forces Since 1948. Institute of south-east Asian Studies. pp. 183. ISBN 9789812308481.
- ^ "Thai Company Building Mill". The Irrawaddy. July 2001. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "Hydropower Plant Put Into Service". The Irrawaddy. June 2002. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
External links
edit- "Kanbalu, Burma"
- "Kanbalu Map — Satellite Images of Kanbalu" Maplandia.com
23°12′14″N 95°30′55″E / 23.20389°N 95.51528°E
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