Myanmar or Burma

Myanmar’s military has been destroying entire villages in northern Mandalay Region since recapturing them late last month, according to locals and resistance forces operating in the area.

MAL has become quite the comedian. In yet another comedic turn, in a message commemorating the 50th anniversary of Arakan State Day on December 15, junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing urged for the cessation of the armed conflict (in Arakan State where he has lost most of its territory save for state capital and a Chinese sea port).

An anonymous expert on China indicated that the meeting probably centered on peacebuilding efforts, ceasefire talks, and security concerns tied to Chinese projects in the area.

The KNDF stated that on December 7 and 8, troops from Battalion 422, based near Moebye, launched drone strikes with bombs containing S-PHOS (560) chemical agents in Moebye and its surroundings.

“A chemical agent was used in attacks. As a result, revolutionary fighters experienced symptoms such as dizziness and vomiting,” said Ta Eh Soe, a KNDF spokesperson.

There has been a slight drop in the production of opium in Myanmar, the world’s biggest source of the illicit drug from which heroin is derived, experts from the United Nations said Thursday, while warning of strong prospects for future expansion of the deadly trade.

A delegation from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) had left on Sunday “for talks with the Chinese government” at China’s invitation, Colonel Naw Bu told AFP.

The ethnic armed organisation Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) claims to have executed several convicts on Thursday in Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang region of northern Shan State.

Recent conflict has brought Myanmar’s biggest rare earth mining region under the control of the Kachin Independence Organization, yet it’s uncertain how it will handle the lucrative but environmentally devastating industry.

The ethnic Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) on Tuesday declared a unilateral ceasefire with the junta while pledging to join China-brokered peace efforts, as Beijing continues to detain its chief.

While the partnership is ostensibly meant to manage security guards protecting Chinese Belt and Road projects in Myanmar, sources suspect the real motive is to deploy Chinese armed personnel to help the military contain anti-junta forces