Myanmar Senior General, and current regime leader, Min Aung Hlaing at the Empower My Myanmar ceremony for Telecom International Myanmar Company Limited (Mytel) in Yangon on June 9, 2018. (Credit: Mytel)
Burma Campaign UK welcomed U.S. sanctions imposed on Mytel, a telecommunications company operated by the Myanmar military and Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence, on Monday. It called on the U.K. and the E.U. to follow suit by sanctioning Mytel on Jan. 6.
“Mytel is a jewel in the crown of the Burmese military business empire, and the time for sanctioning the company is long overdue,” said Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK.
The U.S. government stated that its most recent sanctions targeted Mytel, as well as 11 Chinese companies and one Pakistani company, for actions contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
It added that Mytel has been sanctioned for financially supporting the Myanmar military, which is responsible for human rights violations, war crimes, and for surveillance technology targeting Myanmar’s 54 million citizens.
Besides Mytel, Myanma Post and Telecommunication (MPT), Qatar’s Ooredoo Myanmar and ATOM Myanmar (formerly Telenor Myanmar), which became the newest telecoms operator in 2021 as Norway divested its Myanmar operations after the regime in Naypyidaw ordered all four companies to activate surveillance technology.
The telecoms sector in Myanmar liberalized in 2013, which allowed Ooredoo and Telenor to join MPT and compete in the market in 2014. Mytel became the fourth and final operator when it was established in 2017.
Burma Campaign UK added that the British government had initially led sanctions targeting the Myanmar military’s income and arms supply routes, but the frequency of new sanctions has significantly decreased over the past two years, with only two new sanctions imposed in 2024.
Mytel operates under Telecom International Myanmar Company Limited, a joint venture between the Myanmar military and Vietnam’s Viettel. It was launched in 2017, with the opening ceremony attended by Senior General, and current regime leader, Min Aung Hlaing.
The military profits from Mytel through rental fees for constructing communication towers and other infrastructure. Mytel reportedly provides perks to military generals and thousands of free SIM cards to military families and members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government ousted in the 2021 military coup.
Vietnam’s Viettel is listed on the Burma Campaign UK Dirty List for financially supporting Myanmar’s military. Justice for Myanmar, a whistleblower group, has published numerous reports on Mytel, exposing corruption and nepotism within the company.
The Burmese Women's Union (BWU) held their 30th anniversary event in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Jan. 7. (Credit: DVB)
The 30th anniversary of the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU), as well as the 10th anniversary of its affiliated media outlet Honest Information (HI), was celebrated under the theme: “We dare, we challenge Patriarchy!” in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Jan. 7. BWU was established in 1995 to increase women’s participation in the struggle for democracy and human rights in Myanmar. Check out our photo essay.
Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 3 troops outside of the Kuu Thay Soe military outpost in Kyaukkyi Township, Bago region, after seizing control of it from the military on Jan. 5.(Credit. KNU)
The Karen National Union (KNU) claimed that it killed eight Myanmar military personnel before it seized control of the Kuu Thay Soe outpost in Kyaukkyi Township of Nyaunglebin District, Bago Region, on Sunday.
“We successfully captured the outpost. It had been under the Burma Army’s military occupation for nearly 50 years,” the KNU said in its statement released on Jan. 9. The KNU armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 3, led the offensive against the Kuu Thay Soe military outpost on Dec. 31.
Kyaukkyi is located 102 miles (164 km) north of the region’s capital Bago in an area under the control of the KNU. Resistance forces led by the KNLA captured the Mutel military outpost in Kyaukkyi on Jan. 3. The township serves as an important logistics route for the Myanmar military.
“We have to carefully monitor the situation,” a resident told DVB. The KNU has retaken control over its former headquarters at Manerplaw, located east of the state capital in Hpa-An District along the Myanmar-Thailand border, after it fell to KNLA-led resistance forces on Dec. 16.
The Karen Information Center (KIC) reported that at least five civilians have been killed by artillery strikes carried out by the Myanmar military in Kyaukkyi last week. It added that fighting between the KNLA and the military has displaced hundreds of thousands of residents.
Fighting continues along the Kawkareik-Myawaddy stretch of the Asia Highway between Karen resistance forces and the military’s Aung Zeya column. A regime counter offensive was launched on April 12 in an attempt to retake the vital trade town of Myawaddy, located 60 miles (96 km) east of Hpa-An along the Myanmar-Thailand border, after it was seized and held by the KNLA for 12 days.
The entrance gate to the Karen State capital of Hpa-An. (Credit: DVB)
The regime administration in Karen State announced a shoot on sight curfew and a ban on any gathering of more than five people, via loudspeaker, between midnight and 4am on Bogyoke Road in the capital Hpa-An on Tuesday.
“They’re saying it will be enforced from midnight to 4am but people don’t really dare to go outside after 10pm, especially young people. Although they say midnight, they’ll pull you over if they see you around 10pm,” said a Hpa-An resident.
“They are afraid that the resistance forces will infiltrate [regime-controlled areas],” said another Hpa-An resident, who described the Karen state capital as chaotic.
The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), and its allied resistance groups, seized control of the Swetawkone military camp near the Thai-Burma border in Myawaddy Township, located 80 miles (128 km) east of Hpa-An, on Oct. 17. The Khawpoke military base in Hpapun Township, located 110 miles (177 km) north of Hpa-An, fell to Karen resistance forces on Oct. 29 following a six-month long siege.
On Dec. 8, residents reported that a teenager from Kalok No Hlaing Wa Village in Hpa-an Township was killed by pro-military forces, including the Karen Border Guard Force, which renamed itself as the Karen National Army (BGF/KNA) in 2024.
Residents of Kyauk Ni Maw village of Ramree Township, Arakan State, inspect the destruction following airstrikes on Jan. 8. (Credit: APM)
Forty-two civilians killed by airstrikes in Rakhine
At least 42 people, including children, have been killed and 43 others have been injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on Kyauk Ni Maw village of Ramree Township in central Arakan State on Wednesday. Around 500 homes were destroyed. Ramree is located 278 miles (447 km) south of the Arakan State capital Sittwe.
The military has carried out six airstrikes against the AA after it announced that it was ready for dialogue with the regime following the fall of the Western Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Ann Township on Dec. 20. The AA continues its fight for control of the three remaining Arakan townships: the capital Sittwe, the vital port town of Kyaukphyu, and the island of Munaung.
‘Close the sky’ calls for a global aviation fuel ban on Myanmar
The Blood Money Campaign released a report on Thursday called “Close the Sky: The Dire Consequences of Inaction on Aviation Fuel in Myanmar.” It documents how the Burma Air Force has carried out 4,022 airstrikes on civilians since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 up to November 2024, causing 3,417 casualties and 2,257 fatalities.
“We have over 180 schools in our areas and the Myanmar military has already destroyed 24 schools through its aerial attacks,” said an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) and airstrike survivor in Chinland. “Similarly, the military attacked Mindat hospital which both people from Chin State and nearby areas rely on.”
The report recommends the international community impose immediate sanctions on the export, sale or transfer of aviation fuel to Burma. Last April, the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) passed a resolution urging member states to abstain from exporting, selling or transferring aviation fuel to Naypyidaw. It calls for an international monitoring mechanism to be established and enforced by the U.N.
UN Refugee Agency wants regional countries to save Rohingya
In the first five days of this year, from Jan. 1-5, a total of 460 men, women and children have arrived by boat after weeks at sea to countries in the region. Ten people have reportedly died during the dangerous sea crossings. Indonesia had 264 arrivals on Jan. 5, while Malaysia had 196 on Jan. 3. In December, 115 Rohingya landed in Sri Lanka after six died at sea.
“Saving lives must be the first priority,” said Hai Kyung Jun, the director of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. “We appreciate the steps taken by governments in the region to receive these vulnerable people who fled fighting and persecution back home and survived long days at sea with little food and water. We stand ready to provide support to governments and local efforts to assist them.”
In 2024, more than 7,800 Rohingya attempted to flee Burma and Bangladesh by boat – an 80 percent increase compared to 2023. Over 650 people died or were reported missing enroute, making it one of the world’s most perilous journeys. More children embarked on the voyage, accounting for 44 percent of total passengers, up from 37 percent in 2023. The proportion of women also increased to almost one third.
News by Region
Repair work started at an airstrip in Yegyi Township of Ayeyarwady Region in the first week of January. (Credit: DVB)
AYEYARWADY—The military began repair works last week at an aircraft landing strip near the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 18 in Hinthada Township, which is located 95 miles (154 km) from the Ayeyarwady Region capital Pathein. The military began building airstrips in Yegyi, Kyonpyaw and Shwethaungyan towns, which are located 43-53 miles (69-85 km) from Pathein, in December.
“Hinthada airstrip has not operated since the 1980s. It was being used as a golf course, but it is now being prepared for military aircraft landing,” a source close to the military told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The AA seized control of Gwa Township in southern Arakan State, located 57-92 miles (91-148 km) from Yegyi and Hinthada, in December.
MAGWAY—At least 15 military personnel, including pro-military militia members, were killed during two attacks by resistance forces, including the People’s Defense Force (PDF), in Pakokku Township on Tuesday. Pakokku is located 105 miles (168 km) north of the region’s capital Magway.
“We attacked a [military] supply convoy heading [north] towards Myaing,” said the group’s spokesperson. He added that there were no casualties among resistance forces. Regime media has not yet reported on the attack. DVB cannot independently verify the number allegedly killed by resistance forces.
MANDALAY—Six members of a military family, including military personnel and an assistant fire services director, were detained by a resistance group calling itself Aung San’s Land Natmauk on the Yangon-Mandalay Highway from Dec. 27-31.
“We arrested them in civilian clothes while we conducted two days of security checks on the way,” the group’s spokesperson told DVB. He added that security checkpoints were set up along the highway between Pyawbwe and Yamethin townships, 125 miles (201 km) from Mandalay.
NAYPYIDAW—Political parties told DVB that the regime’s Union Election Commission (UEC) has yet to issue any announcement regarding the election law. A total of 53 political parties have re-registered with the UEC since the 2021 coup. The regime released its preliminary population and household census at 51,316,756 on Dec. 31.
“We, the political parties, shared our difficulties to the regime leaders and UEC when we met in Naypyidaw, but there are no follow ups from them yet,” Aye Lwin, the Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics party chairperson, told DVB. The elections, which are tentatively scheduled in November, will be held in 161 out of the total 330 constituencies nationwide.
American pro-democracy activist Michael Sladnick joins us in the DVB Newsroom to share his journey about how he learned first learned about Myanmar after the 2021 military coup, then learned to speak Burmese and moved to the Thailand-Myanmar border to provide assistance to the anti-coup resistance.
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