On February 21, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Japanese Yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa on charges of international trafficking of nuclear materials from Myanmar beginning in early 2020. Ebisawa had already been in U.S. custody since April 2022, after he was charged in New York City for illegal arms trading and narcotrafficking. The recent indictment … Read more
More than three years after the Myanmar military seized power in a coup, it has become commonplace to argue that the battlefield is turning against the military and its State Administration Council (SAC). Resistance forces have enjoyed momentum since the launch of Operation 1027, an offensive launched in late October by the Three Brotherhood Alliance … Read more
China’s government has reportedly brokered an agreement between the Myanmar military and an alliance of armed resistance groups that has made sweeping gains in eastern Myanmar since late last year. In a Chinese- and Kachin-language statement yesterday, the Three Brotherhood Alliance (3BHA, or Northern Alliance) of resistance groups stated that following a round of China-brokered … Read more
Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG) has denounced the military’s announcement that it will begin enforcing a 2010 military conscription law, vowing to resist its implementation. In a statement yesterday, the NUG, which is coordinating the nationwide resistance to the military junta, said that the February 10 announcement was “unlawful and has no legal effect.” … Read more
On February 8, the rebel Arakan Army (AA) seized Mrauk-U, the former capital of the Arakan kingdom in Rakhine State, western Myanmar, along with the towns of Minbya and Kyauktaw. In fact, since the resumption of war between the AA and the country’s military junta on November 13, the AA has now successfully taken over … Read more
After significant battlefield setbacks over the past three months, Myanmar’s military announced that it would start to enforce for the first time a 2010 conscription law that subjects young men and women to at least two years of military service. In a statement read out on state broadcaster MRTV on Saturday, junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. … Read more
Ngapali Beach, in the southern part of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, is facing tough times. Once known for attracting an international crowd of holidaymakers, the country’s premier beach resort is currently experiencing its lowest tourist numbers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation here has deteriorated in recent weeks, three years after a military … Read more
Myanmar’s military junta has extended the country’s state of emergency by another six months, again delaying a general election it has promised to hold – though it remains unlikely to ever happen. In a statement cited by the AFP news agency, the regime’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) agreed yesterday to the extension, which … Read more
Three years have passed since the military coup in Myanmar. Since then, the resistance movement has flourished into an inspired example of people’s power and the defiance of authoritarian forces. In the eyes of the military, the hijacking of the 2020 general election and subsequent coup attempt was an easy conquest. They thought that violence … Read more
Myanmar’s military junta has sent a senior official to a major meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the first time since late 2021. According to reporters, Marlar Than Htaik, the permanent secretary of Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is attending this week’s ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Laos. The two-day informal … Read more