Myanmar or Burma

Two junta warships advancing to Katha Township [on Irrawady River] from Tigyaing(a.k.a)Htigyaing Township, situated in the Sagaing Region and Kachin State border area, were hit again and are currently stationed at the Thahpankaing jetty in Katha Township, according to members of the local administrative team.

Note: ARA is separate and distinct from ARSA (Arakan Rhingya Salvation Army) whose attacks prompted the military's notorious response in 2017.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Kokang ethnic armed organisation, has announced that Chinese is the official language in all the areas of northern Shan State it controls.

This is causing problems for the many locals who do not speak Chinese.

Is the Myanmar junta turning to the infamous Russian Wagner Group of state-sponsored mercenaries for help in its wars against a multitude of armed groups opposing its February 2021 seizure of power? That, at least, is what is being claimed in the 61st bulletin from a Chinese-language website called One Guide that covers the fighting in northern Myanmar.

Let us not forget another terrible anniversary that occured on the very same date, 25th of August: the massacre of 99 Hindus by Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/05/myanmar-new-evidence-reveals-rohingya-armed-group-massacred-scores-in-rakhine-state/

Given that Hindus are a tiny minority in Arakan State with an estimated population of 10,000, this massacre as a % of population is significant.

[A bit dramatic headline by the newspaper.] The junta’s military is preparing to launch a major offensive dubbed Operation Sin Phyu Shin – “Lord of the White Elephant” – to retake the areas of northern Shan State captured by the Brotherhood Alliance and its allies since they launched Operation 1027 late last year.

“Operation Lord of the White Elephant” will be led by junta number two, Vice-Senior General Soe Win, multiple sources said.

Myanmar’s largest city has been rocked by cholera in recent months – but the regime has largely covered up the outbreak by avoiding naming the disease and including confirmed cases in its tallies of acute watery diarrhoea.