Burma Campaign UK calls for sanctions against Arakan Army
London-based watchdog Burma Campaign UK issued a statement on Wednesday urging the British government to sanction the Arakan Army (AA) for carrying out international human rights violations against the people of Burma since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. The AA has allegedly targeted regime soldiers and civilians, including the Rohingya, with summary executions, beheadings, torture, and sexual violence.
“Allowing the [AA] to continue to commit human rights abuses with impunity only encourages them to think they can get away with more abuses,” said Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK. Other watchdog groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Fortify Rights, have also documented what they describe as a pattern of abuses by the AA since the 2021 coup.
The AA has seized 14 out of 17 townships in Arakan State, as well as Paletwa Township in southern Chin State. It has previously denied all allegations against it. Burma Campaign UK called for international justice and accountability mechanisms to be used against the AA. It added that as the U.N. Security Council “penholder” on Burma, the U.K. had the right to call for a UNSC meeting to address the crisis in Arakan.
Justice for Myanmar renews effort at jet fuel ban
The whistleblower group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) released a statement on Monday calling the E.U., the U.K., the U.S., Canadian and Australian governments to swiftly impose new targeted and coordinated sanctions against companies helping Burma’s military evade international sanctions placed on aviation fuel into the country beginning in December 2022.
“A supply chain that stretches from Vietnam to Iran is fuelling the Myanmar military’s international crimes, enabling airstrikes that terrorise the people of Myanmar,” Yadanar Maung, the group’s spokesperson, said in a press release on Feb. 23. It claimed that jet fuel imports to Burma have doubled from 64,562 to 106,604 metric tonnes from 2024 to 2025, according to data from the Myanma Port Authority.
Justice for Myanmar stated that as a result of the increase in the amount of aviation fuel into Burma, the military has stepped up its campaign of airstrikes nationwide. It added that the state owned Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise (MPE), as well as eight owners of four vessels based in Vietnam, the UAE, and the Marshall Islands have been included in the updated sanctions list.
Timor-Leste gov’t denies involvement in case against Myanmar
Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta shared a statement to social media on Wednesday denying accusations that his government ordered the Special Prosecutor to investigate 14 senior military officials from Burma, including regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The criminal complaint was filed by the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) under the legal principle of universal jurisdiction.
Ramos-Horta met with Salai Za Uk Ling, the CHRO executive director, in Dili and told him about the independence of Timor-Leste’s judiciary. “Maybe the Myanmar side overreacted and created a storm in a tea cup. To avoid future misunderstandings, Myanmar and Timor-Leste should engage more regularly in dialogue either bilaterally or via the good offices of ASEAN Secretariat,” Ramos-Horta wrote on Feb. 25.
He said that he wants to help “deescalate” the conflict in Burma since the 2021 military coup, and recalled how regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing signed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Five Point Consensus, the regional bloc’s peace plan, in April 2021 but didn’t implement it upon his return to Burma. The head of Timor-Leste’s diplomatic mission in Burma was expelled on Feb. 20.
News by Region
MANDALAY—The People’s Defence Force (PDF) announced on Wednesday that it is now a “Special Mobile Division” under the National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Defence. The PDF was established in Mandalay on Feb. 25, 2021, according to its fifth anniversary statement.
The PDF has fought alongside the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Shan State and Mandalay Region since October 2023. The PDF and TNLA seized Mogok Township, located 124 miles (200 km) northeast of Mandalay, in July 2024. The TNLA handed Mogok to the regime on Nov. 29.
SAGAING—The PDF in Yinmabin Township told DVB that tax checkpoints manned by resistance forces must be closed by Feb. 28 or “face action.” Security has increased in Yinmabin since Burma National Revolutionary Army (BNRA) leader Bo Nagar surrendered to the military on Feb. 18.
The NUG Ministry of Home Affairs told DVB that it wants to reduce the number of checkpoints to relieve the financial burden on residents living in PDF-controlled areas. Nineteen checkpoints have been reduced to eight since Feb. 17, according to the PDF in Ye-U Township. Yinmabin and Ye-U are located 28-55 miles (45-88 km) west and northeast of the region’s capital Monywa.
NAYPYIDAW—Regime media reported that the 22nd intake of military conscripts began training on Feb. 18. It stated that senior regime officials, including region and state chief ministers, deputy commanders and other authorities, attended opening ceremonies, provided cash awards, food and essential items to the new conscripts.
Zaw Min Tun, the regime spokesperson, said that 5,000 would be conscripted per intake after the law was enforced on Feb. 10, 2024. An estimated 96,000 have been conscripted in 20 intakes, according to DVB data. Those who complete military training are serving in battalions across the country, according to the regime.
YANGON—Residents in Thaketa, South Okkalapa, North Dagon, South Dagon, North Okkalapa and Hlaingthaya townships told DVB that regime administrators have started to compile lists of women’s names for military conscription. Women aged 18 to 27 must serve in the military for at least two years, according to the conscription law.
A resident from South Okkalapa told DVB on the condition of anonymity that a bribe of 200,000 MMK ($51 USD) can be paid to regime administrators to avoid conscription. The Myanmar Defence & Security Institute (MDSI), led by military defectors, announced that the first batch of female conscripts received training in August.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 3,910 MMK)
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