Mogok to come under National Unity Government control?
Mogok Township in Mandalay Region may be administered by the National Unity Government (NUG) with the People’s Defence Force (PDF) providing security after the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) completes its reported withdrawal on Nov. 25. Mogok, 124 miles (200 km) north of Mandalay, is a source of revenue for both the regime and ethnic armed groups due to its lucrative ruby mining industry.
“The NUG has its People’s Administration Team and Security Team in Mogok. Now, we’re discussing with townspeople for an inclusive administration,” Soe Htay, a Mogok resident, told DVB. He added that the TNLA hasn’t informed the residents about its withdrawal plan since it reached a China-brokered ceasefire deal with the regime in Naypyidaw on Oct. 29.
The TNLA reportedly agreed to return Mogok, as well as Momeik in northern Shan State, to regime control as part of the ceasefire deal. It seized the two towns with its allied PDF in July 2024. The PDF in Mandalay Region told DVB that regime forces recaptured the Ingyinmyaing Air Defence Base and the Sedawgyi Dam outpost in Madaya Township, 101 miles (162 km) south of Mogok on Nov. 6.
Death toll reaches 21 in Malaysia after Rohingya boat sinks
Malaysian patrols searched coastal waters in the Andaman Sea on Monday for dozens of Rohingya, after a boat believed to be carrying them sank last week and another went missing. At least 21 bodies have been found since the vessel went down on Thursday – 12 in Malaysia and nine in neighbouring Thailand, according to Malaysia’s maritime agency.
Without life jackets, it might be difficult for many to survive even 24 hours, but some could be holding on to floating objects and search operations would continue, said the regional head of Malaysia’s maritime agency Romli Mustafa. “Weather conditions are not so friendly but anyhow, we’re trying our level best,” he added. So far, 13 survivors have been rescued.
Facing violence at home in Burma’s Arakan State and increasingly difficult living conditions in sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh, Rohingya attempt sea journeys to reach Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia. The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) states that nearly 600 Rohingya have been reported dead or missing since January as over 5,100 boarded boats to leave Burma and Bangladesh. Read more
International community ‘must reject’ regime elections
The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a body of lawmakers elected in Burma’s 2020 general elections but ousted by the military during the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, called on the international community, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the U.N., to reject the regime’s 2025-26 elections in a statement on Nov. 8 – the fifth anniversary of the 2020 elections.
The NUG Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung and Humanitarian Affairs Minister Win Myat Aye led a CRPH delegation to the 151th general assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international organization of parliaments of sovereign states, in Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 19-23. Zin Mar Aung told the assembly that regime elections will only “worsen the ongoing humanitarian crisis.”
She added that 6,800 civilians have been killed, and over five million have been displaced from their homes, since the coup. The Union Election Commission (UEC) has scheduled the polls to begin on Dec. 28, and continue into January 2026, in 274 of Burma’s 330 total townships. The IPU continues to recognize the CRPH as its official partner in Burma. Read more
News by Region
KAREN—Civil society groups affiliated with the Karen National Union (KNU) are preparing to launch what could be considered the world’s first indigenous-led climate commitment before the end of the year. Burma has no official delegation at the U.N. climate talks, known as COP30, this week in Brazil.
The Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) and the Tanawthari River Indigenous People Network (TRIPNET) have developed the Kawthoolei Climate Action Plan (K-CAP) to protect remaining forests, restore watersheds, and help rural villages adapt to rising heat and erratic rainfall. Read more
NAYPYIDAW—Regime media reported that three Russian-made Mi 38 transport helicopters and two Y-8F200WB military transporters were added to the Air Force during a ceremony at the Naypyidaw Air Base on Friday. Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing said that military aircrafts have been purchased 15 times from 2011 to 2025.
He claimed that “terrorists” have been experiencing losses on the battlefield. A resident of Arakan State currently living in Yangon Region told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the Air Force carries out airstrikes on schools and religious buildings. DVB has documented that 1,849 people have been killed in 2,321 airstrikes so far this year
SAGAING—Over 70,000 residents from 50 villages in Kalay Township have fled their homes due to a regime counteroffensive into Chinland since October, residents told DVB. A military source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that nearly 2,000 troops have departed Kalay in two columns.
Kalay is located 144 miles (231 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa and home to the regime’s Regional Operation Command (ROC). The source added that one column is advancing toward Falam Township, while the other column is advancing toward Tedim Township, in northern Chinland. Read more
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