"Nearly 200 villagers in the copper mining area of northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region staged a protest on Monday against a Chinese-backed company that they claim has not paid them reasonable compensation after seizing their farmland for a mining project, locals said. Residents of Kankone village in Salingyi township marched from their community to the entrance of a compound owned by Myanmar Yang Tse Copper Ltd. and demanded payment for more than 2,000 acres of land and the right to use water from the Chindwin River, they said. The residents say the company has confiscated farmland near two mountains for its Sabetaung and Kyisintaung (S&K) mining operations and has restricted public access to the Chindwin River since the military-backed government under former president Thein Sein (2011-2015). “We have been promised that we would receive compensation for the farmland since 2015,” said protest organizer Tint Aung Soe. “The company also issued an official notice,” he said. “They have agreed to pay compensation, and the government said it is ready to help. If they don’t give us the compensation as they have stated, we will keep holding protests across the region.” Though the company has agreed to pay local residents, it is not willing to compensate them at the rate they demand, which has delayed the resolution of the issue, he said..."