Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus in Paris, France on Aug. 7. (Credit: Reuters)
Bangladesh has recalled its ambassador from Myanmar, a Bangladeshi foreign ministry official said on Thursday, after it acknowledged opening a communications line with a resistance group fighting its neighbour’s military regime.
Monowar Hossain, who had been serving in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw since mid-2023, was told to return to Dhaka with immediate effect, said the official, describing it as an “administrative decision” without giving further reasons.
Relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar have been strained by the Rohingya refugee crisis and border security concerns.
A Myanmar regime spokesperson was not available for comment.
More than 1.2 million Rohingya are sheltering in Bangladesh, with the U.N. warning that widespread hunger in western Arakan (Rakhine) State could trigger fresh displacement. Over 130,000 people are thought to have crossed in the past year, Bangladesh says.
Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman said last week that Dhaka has opened informal communication channels with the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group active in Rakhine, to maintain border stability.
Dhaka also remains engaged with the Myanmar regime to pursue a long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis, Rahman said, including potential support for a proposed U.N.-led humanitarian aid corridor in Rakhine.
But Bangladesh’s army opposes that.
“The army will not be involved in any activity that compromises the country’s security,” Colonel Shafiqul Islam, a senior Bangladesh army official, told media about the U.N. aid plan.
People queue for food and relief supplies after the March 28 earthquake in Amarapura Township of Mandalay Region on April 1, 2025. (Credit: Reuters)
In Myanmar’s Sagaing Region, the cost of living has risen rapidly. Following the devastating earthquake on March 28, residents now face rising prices and restrictions on the import of food items and medicine into the region.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gives a speech on drugs and transnational crime at the Office of the Narcotics Control Board in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 27. (Credit: Bangkok Post)
Myanmar armed group accused of drug trafficking by Thailand
Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s former Prime Minister and the father of current Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has urged Bangkok to intensify its anti-drug war against the United Wa State Army (UWSA). Thaksin stated that the Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Maris Sangiampongsa will meet with representatives of neighbouring countries to compel the UWSA to cease drug production.
“If [Burma] claims it cannot manage the issue because it involves ethnic minority groups, we may need to take direct action ourselves,” he said at an anti-narcotics meeting in Bangkok on May 27. In response to Thaksin’s claims, the UWSA spokesperson Nyi Rang shared on social media that preventing and blocking drugs completely is not easy despite the UWSA “continuous efforts to eliminate it.”
“At least 50 political prisoners were wounded [by prison officials] during interrogation,” Thaik Tun Oo, the PPNM spokesperson, told DVB, adding that they have not received sufficient medical attention. He accused prison officials of beating over 400 political prisoners accused of being involved in the confrontation on April 13.
This is when fighting broke out between the People’s Defence Force (PDF) and regime troops near the prison and some prisoners attempted to escape, according to the PPNM. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that a total of 22,062 political prisoners have been detained since the 2021 military coup.
UN Human Rights Myanmar Chief James Rodehaver
James Rodehaver, the head of the Myanmar team at the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), sat down with the DVB Newsroom to discuss how the U.N. documents human rights violations and crimes committed by the military in Burma since the 2021 coup.
“What my office is doing is tracking these attacks very carefully and trying to utilize the data in order to urge parties on the ground to take more measures to protect civilians. And also to do public advocacy so people know that these attacks are happening, who is responsible for them, and most importantly to show that the ceasefire that has been declared is no ceasefire at all,” Rodehaver told DVB.
Watch DVB Newsroom season 2 episode 17 featuring UN Human Rights Myanmar Chief James Rodehaver on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. If you want to listen to it as audio, find and follow us on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, or wherever pods are cast.
News by Region
Residents flee fighting between the People’s Defense Force and regime forces in Natogyi Township, Mandalay Region, earlier this month. (Credit: CJ)
MANDALAY—Tens of thousands of Natogyi Township residents have fled their homes due to fighting between the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and regime forces since May 15. Natogyi is located 67 miles (108 km) south of Mandalay.
SHAN—The National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), based in Eastern Shan State Special Region 4, met with regime leader Min Aung Hlaing at the Triangle Regional Military Command headquarters in Kengtung Township on Sunday. Kengtung is located 172 miles (277 km) east of the state capital Taunggyi.
TANINTHARYI—More details have emerged about the 40 Rohingya, which includes 27 men and 13 women, who are under the care of an unnamed resistance group in Launglone Township. The 40 arrived ashore on May 9. Launglone is located 12 miles (19 km) south of the region’s capital Dawei.
“They were put on a flight to Port Blair, which is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. And from there they were apparently beaten,” Chris Lewa, the director of The Arakan Project, told DVB. “The women apparently were not beaten up and they were [all] put on a boat by the [Indian] Navy.”
Lonekhin village is located seven miles from the jade town of Hpakant, Kachin State, which has been under Kachin Independence Army control since April 2024. (Credit: Unknown)
A source in the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) told DVB that resistance forces have been engaged with regime forces near Lonekhin village of Hpakant Township, Kachin State, on Wednesday. Lonekhin is located seven miles (11 km) northeast of Hpakant town which has been under KIA control since April 2024.
“KIA-led resistance forces intercepted a group that had split from the 600-strong regime column near Namyathna Pagoda, close to Lonekhin,” the source told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that the column, which advanced toward Hpakant via the Kamaing road, split into smaller groups to attack resistance forces simultaneously in Lonekhin.
Regime artillery attacks reportedly destroyed an unknown number of homes in Lonekhin and injured an unknown number of civilians. Hpakant is located 94-166 miles (151-267 km) west of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and the KIA headquarters in Laiza.
A Lonekhin resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the Myanmar Air Force provided support to regime troops, making it difficult for resistance forces to stop their advance. The KIA instructed residents from Lelpyin and Lonekhin villages to relocate to Nammahpyit village in Hpakant on Tuesday, the resident added.
In Bhamo Township of southern Kachin, located 214 miles (344 km) southeast of Hpakant and 120 miles (193 km) south of Myitkyina, KIA-led resistance forces seized at least three regime outposts on Tuesday, according to the KIA.
It launched an offensive in southern Kachin on Dec. 4, seizing Mansi Township on Jan. 8. Prior to that it had captured Kanpaikti, a town on the Myanmar-China border in Waingmaw Township, on Nov. 20, as well as the rare-earth mining hub of Pangwa in Chipwi Township on Oct. 19.
The Chiang Mai Pride runway event was held at Pantip Plaza in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on May 27. (Credit: DVB)
The Chiang Mai Pride Runway event was held at Pantip Plaza’s new “Lifestyle Hub” in Chiang Mai, Thailand on May 27. The event included an open forum and discussion on LGBTQ+ rights in Thailand.
“We chose [to hold the event at] Lifestyle Hub as it [is located] in the center of the tourist area [of Chiang Mai]. A lot of people came [here today]. Not only Thai people, [but also] people from around the world [to attend the runway event],” said Ice, a forum participant and founder of Some Space Gallery.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivers remarks to the plenary session of the 46th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on May 26. (Credit: MalayMail)
ASEAN calls for dialogue and ceasefire expansion
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) urged the regime in Naypyidaw to extend a temporary ceasefire and engage in peace talks with its rivals at the 46th summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 27. ASEAN Chair Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told regional leaders that there has been “significant” progress made to engage the regime and the resistance in Burma.
Anwar has called on the regime in Naypyidaw and the civilian-led National Unity Government (NUG) to begin peace talks. He held a face-to-face meeting with regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 17, and a virtual meeting with NUG Prime Minister Mahn Winn Khaing Thann the following day.
UN warns of ‘catastrophic’ human rights crisis in Myanmar
The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) raised concern on Monday over the deteriorating human rights situation and economic collapse in Burma with military operations killing more civilians last year than in any year since the 2021 coup.
“The country has endured an increasingly catastrophic human rights crisis marked by unabated violence and atrocities that have affected every single aspect of life,” said Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Burma’s economy has lost $93.9 billion USD over the last four years with inflation surging and the kyat losing 40 percent of its value. Over half the population now lives below the poverty line, facing food insecurity and soaring prices, which has worsened since the March 28 earthquake, according to the U.N.
NUG wants India to investigate PDF deaths along border
The NUG issued a statement on Monday requesting the Indian government investigate the killing of 10 People’s Defence Force (PDF) members from Tamu Township of Sagaing Region allegedly by the paramilitary Assam Rifles on May 14. It also called on New Delhi to temporarily suspend unilateral border fencing in areas with unresolved border demarcation.
“I think so far we have two polar opposite accounts of what happened, one from the Indian side and one from the NUG side. And these two accounts differ in some of the very basic facts of the incident, which is that where did it happen? How did it happen? And of course, what exactly happened?” Angshuman Choudhury, an independent researcher on India-Burma border affairs, told DVB.
A passenger bus swept away by floodwaters while it crossed a creek in Taungtha Township, Mandalay Region, on May 26. (Credit: Aung Winthein)
MANDALAY—The PDF in Taungtha Township told DVB that approximately 40 bus passengers were rescued by residents and resistance force members after their bus was swept away while attempting to cross a creek on Monday. Taungtha is located 90 miles (145 km) southwest of Mandalay. No casualties were reported.
“The Myingyan–Taungtha highway has been temporarily closed, forcing people to use an alternative route [through the creek],” a PDF member told DVB. The regime meteorological department has forecasted heavy rain across the country from May 25 to June 2. It warned of the risk of natural disasters such as strong winds, flash floods, and landslides.
The Mandalay Police Force launched a new security system called Guardian Link at a meeting on Sunday in order to better protect jewelry stores and banks from armed robberies, a source told DVB. This move follows 14 robberies reported in Mandalay over the past year.
The system cost 1.2 million MMK ($266 USD) with a 20,000 MMK ($4.4 USD) monthly fee. It alerts police when Guardian Link users report an incident via a smartphone app. First introduced in Tanintharyi Region, the source added that more training needs to be provided to police on how to properly respond to the new security system.
KACHIN—The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) ordered all KTVs and restaurants with live music in Laiza, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) headquarters, to shut down on Saturday. Laiza is located 71 miles (114 km) south of the state capital Myitkyina.
A Laiza resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that teenagers have been caught using drugs at KTVs in Laiza and in Maijayang. The KIO said that action will be taken if this order is not followed. At least six KTVs and restaurants with live-music were shut down by the KIA in Laiza.
YANGON—The Solidarity of Trade Union Myanmar (STUM) announced that the workers and the GTIG Guohua Glory garment factory owners in Shwepyitha Township have reached an agreement for a daily wage of 11,500 MMK ($2.59 USD) and an overtime fee of 2,100 MMK ($0.4 USD) per hour starting on June 1.
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