Buddhist monk allegedly killed by People’s Defence Force
A resistance group in Ohntaing village of Pekon Township, southern Shan State, announced on Sunday that a member of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) confessed to the murder of a Buddhist monk, along with his disciple, at a monastery on March 4. Pekon is located 104 miles (167 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 21 miles north (33 km) of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.
“This could cause religious and racial problems,” a Pekon resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The PDF admitted that its member was investigating a monk, and his disciple, at his monastery and found text messages to military officials on his phone. The PDF member allegedly shot the two men “out of anger” because they refused to accompany him to another location for “further investigation.”
Resistance groups in southern Shan and Karenni states said that the PDF member accused of killing the two would be prosecuted, but declined to comment any further. The Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) announced that it would cooperate in the investigation. Pekon residents said that the monk provided donations to civilians displaced from their homes since the 2021 military coup.
Russia and Belarus to help regime with elections
Upon his return to Naypyidaw on Monday, Min Aung Hlaing told regime media that Russia and Belarus will help with its elections by sending observers. The regime leader visited Russia and Belarus March 3-9. He announced on Friday that elections would be held in Burma as soon as this December, or in January 2026, despite a regime announcement last year stating that elections were tentatively scheduled for November.
“The President of Russia [Vladimir Putin] and the President of Belarus [Aleksandr] Lukashenko promised to help with our elections. This gives us strength for our country,” said Min Aung Hlaing on March 10. Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun added that Russia and Belarus support the regime’s election plan and will provide necessary assistance, as China committed to doing for the regime last year.
The regime Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in December that international observers would be invited to monitor its elections. The civilian-led National Unity Government (NUG) stated that regime elections would not stop the resistance to the 2021 military coup. Fifty-four registered political parties told DVB that they were instructed to prepare for polls in 110 out of 330 townships nationwide.
Justice for Myanmar questions UN Special Envoy ties to China
Justice for Myanmar called on the U.N. to investigate Julie Bishop, its Special Envoy on Burma, for a conflict of interest due to recent business activities. It claimed that she was appointed as a strategic advisor for a controversial uranium and rare earths mining project in Greenland linked to Chinese state-owned companies with involvement in Burma.
“Through its supply of arms and funds to the Myanmar military, the Chinese government is aiding and abetting ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Any commercial ties between the U.N. Special Envoy and the Chinese state are therefore alarming and call into question her ability to carry out her mission with integrity,” stated Yadanar Maung, the Justice for Myanmar spokesperson.
Bishop was appointed an advisor to Energy Transition Minerals (ETM) in January through her business firm. Her role is to advise its board “to advance the Kvanefjeld Project towards development, in parallel with the ongoing legal process.” One major shareholder in this project is Shenghe Resources, a partly state-owned Chinese rare earths mining company. Bishop was appointed U.N. Special Envoy on Burma in April 2024.
News by Region
ARAKAN—Rohingya in Bangladesh told DVB that one was killed and four were injured during fighting between the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) in a refugee camp near the Bangladesh-Burma border on Saturday.
Bangladesh’s Armed Police Battalion stated that it had arrested Mohammad Ayub, the ARA vice commander, and two others. Rohingya said that the fighting was over drugs and that police did not arrest any RSO members. The Arakan Army (AA) claimed that both Rohingya armed groups fought alongside regime forces in northern Arakan last year.
SHAN—A resistance group calling itself the Southern Shan State Revolutionary Youth told DVB that five of its members were killed in fighting against regime forces in Moebye town since January. It withdrew from the National Unity Government (NUG) command on Feb. 1. Moebye is located 100 miles (160 km) south of the state capital Taunggyi.
“Four members were killed in January. One member was killed on March 8 after receiving four rounds of surgery,” a member told DVB. Fighting between resistance and regime forces has escalated in Moebye since January. A regime counteroffensive is attempting to retake territory lost to resistance forces in southern Shan.
TANINTHARYI—An aid group told DVB on Sunday that over 1,700 Tanintharyi Township residents who fled their homes due to fighting are suffering from malnutrition at camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) along the Tanintharyi-Mawtaung Road. Tanintharyi is located 188 miles (302 km) south of the region’s capital Dawei.
“The military has taken position in Theinkhun village. They’re trying to reach Mawtaung but resistance forces have stopped them,” a Kawthoolei Army (KTLA) spokesperson told DVB. Over 50 homes have been destroyed by regime airstrikes on Theinkhun, Htonekhar and Nyaungbinkwin villages of Tanintharyi since fighting began there on Dec. 18.
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