ASEAN Envoy leads humanitarian mission to Myanmar
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2026 Chair, the Philippines, Special Envoy on Myanmar Theresa Lazaro arrived in the country on Wednesday for a three-day visit to oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid after the regime in Naypyidaw has been accused of weaponizing aid deliveries by not letting it reach regions and states not under its control.
“It is unlikely that aid would reach those who genuinely need it, including people displaced by the fighting,” Sai Kyi Zin Soe, a political analyst, told DVB. Lazaro was accompanied by representatives from the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) during a visit to Shan and Karen states, according to a statement.
Regime media reported that Lazaro and the AHA Centre team visited Shan’s Taunggyi Township, including the St. Faustina Novitiate Church and Nyomee Bayakone village on Oct. 28. They plan to distribute 50 kg bags of rice, personal hygiene kits, and other essential items to over 11,000 households. Lazaro is also expected to visit regime officials in Naypyidaw before she departs Burma today.
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UN Special Rapporteur warns against normalization of regime
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Kelley E. Currie, has warned the international community that pursuing unconditional diplomatic engagement with the regime in Naypyidaw risks legitimizing military rule while civilian bloodshed and systemic abuses continue unabated.
Addressing the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly Third Committee Interactive Dialogue on Tuesday, Currie cautioned member states against entertaining overtures from regime leader Min Aung Hlaing, who has visited China, India. Russia, Belarus, as well as five member states belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“[Min Aung Hlaing] and his regime remain the greatest source of civilian death and suffering, instability, impoverishment, corruption, and gross violations of human rights in Myanmar. Whatever you are pursuing, it’s not going to happen with this regime,” Currie told the U.N. committee on Oct. 27. Min Aung Hlaing was inaugurated president of Burma on April 10.
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UN Envoy rejects Naypyidaw claims of governance and stability
The United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, briefed the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee meeting on Tuesday, laying bare the deeply contested reality of what Burma’s regime in Naypyidaw states and the facts on-the-ground from resistance groups, who have seized control of large swathes of the country.
Challenging what she called the “myth” that the crisis in Burma since the 2021 military coup can ever be resolved by armed conflict, Bishop underscored that up to 70 per cent of the country’s territory is now either contested or controlled by resistance forces, directly undermining the regime’s claims of governance and stability nationwide.
Pointing to the stark divergence on the ground, she noted that while the regime in Naypyidaw characterizes its continued aerial bombardments as counter-terrorism operations, resistance and civil society documentation groups reveal that airstrikes systematically target non-combatants with at least 8,700 civilians killed since 2021.
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News by Region
ARAKAN—The Arakan Army (AA) claimed that the military is using residents as “human shields” during fighting in the state capital Sittwe Township on Wednesday. Khaing Thukha, the AA spokesperson, added that the military is committing war crimes in a statement on Oct. 28.
The AA sank two Burma Navy vessels and damaged a third on the Kaladan River in Sittwe on Oct. 26. The regime has yet to respond to AA accusations about war crimes in Sittwe, where fighting intensified with regime forces on Sept. 4. Read the full article on our website
KACHIN—The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has resumed attacks on regime positions around the Military Operations Command 21 in Bhamo Township earlier this month, while the military counterattacks KIA positions in Bhamo, Mansi and Momauk townships.
Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, told DVB that fighting over control of the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 47 has been ongoing since six Burma Navy vessels carrying reinforcements arrived in Bhamo on Sept. 3. Read the full article on our website
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