NUG briefs US as part of resistance diplomatic blitz
At a briefing on Burma affairs in Washington, DC, on Friday, National Unity Government (NUG) Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung requested that U.S. lawmakers apply pressure on the regime in Naypyidaw to provide independent verification that jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is still alive and to cooperate with the resistance coalition to end cyber scams targeting Americans.
“Aung San Suu Kyi’s fundamental human rights are being violated by the regime as she has been barred from meeting her son Kim Aris, [and] it’s difficult to verify if she’s even still alive,” Zin Mar Aung told the U.S. lawmakers. The briefing, led by the Burma Research Institute (BRI), was held at the congressional Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, on July 24.
Zo Tum Hmung, the executive director of BRI, also briefed U.S. lawmakers in Washington on the crisis since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021 alongside Zin Mar Aung, as she reiterated her calls for improved relations between the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF) and the U.S. government. Read more on our website
Home raids and checkpoint arrests of conscription evaders
Regime officials have defended forced home entries, street stops, and checkpoint detentions targeting youth evading military service, asserting that aggressive recruitment tactics are lawful despite mounting criticism that the campaign amounts to widespread state abductions. The stance was confirmed during a Pyithu Hluttaw, or lower house of parliament, session in Naypyidaw on Wednesday.
The regime’s Deputy Minister for Home Affairs, Min Thu, addressed concerns regarding military recruitment practices across the country. The deputy minister’s claims drew sharp pushback from Gone Wun, a lawmaker representing the Naga National Party (NNP) for Hkamti Township in Sagaing Region.
Min Thu acknowledged public outrage over the methods deployed by security forces to locate and detain draft-eligible individuals, but insisted the measures were legally justified. He explained that males aged 18-35 who fail to report for compulsory military duty are placed on official blacklists. Read more on our website
Fuel shortages resume as prices rebound nationwide
Residents of Yangon and Mandalay told DVB that an unknown number of petrol stations are experiencing fuel shortages as prices rebound from a three-month low. The shortages follow reports that the regime’s Ministry of Energy cut weekly fuel purchase quotas for retailers by more than half after regime leader Min Aung Hlaing instructed his cabinet on July 7 to reduce foreign currency spending.
Taxi drivers in Yangon told DVB that they could buy only enough fuel to last six days a week. In an attempt to save fuel amid disruptions in the global supply chain due to the war in Iran, the Ministry of Energy allows private vehicles to refuel every other day, and commercial vehicles—including taxis, three-wheelers, and cargo trucks—to buy fuel up to three times a week depending on the mileage since April.
One liter of 92-octane gasoline rose 3,210-3,350 MMK ($0.74-0.77 USD) with 95-octane gasoline 3,285-3,460 MMK ($0.76-0.80 USD) July 23-24, according to the regime’s Petroleum Products Regulatory Department. One liter of diesel rose 3,175-3,560 MMK ($0.73-0.82 USD) with premium diesel 3,895-4,315 MMK ($0.90-1.00 USD). The prices of 95-octane and premium diesel peaked at 4,945 MMK ($1.15 USD) and 7,755 MMK ($1.80 USD) per liter in late April.
News by Region
ARAKAN—At least 11 civilians were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in Thandwe Township on July 23-24. Thousands of residents across the state are facing food shortages, disease outbreaks, and severe riverbank erosion following the region’s worst flooding in two decades.
The latest attacks follow broader regional air raids documented by the Arakan Army (AA), which reported a cumulative toll of five civilians killed and 29 injured from recent regime airstrikes across Thandwe, Taungup, and Ponnagyun townships. Read more on our website
MAGWAY—The People’s Defence Force (PDF) under National Unity Government (NUG) command told DVB that nine regime troops were killed during an attack on a checkpoint along the Naypyidaw-Magway highway in Myothit Township, located 35 miles (56 km) east of the region’s capital on Saturday.
Thirty regime troops, including police, were stationed at the Shwepan checkpoint in Myothit. Twenty-one regime troops escaped. No casualties were reported by the PDF. The Shwepan checkpoint serves as a security post for the capital Naypyidaw, which is 68 miles (109 km) north of Myothit. Read more on our website
SAGAING—Regime forces regained control of Kammagyi village in Tamu Township from the PDF on Tuesday. Tamu is located along the 81-mile (130 km) long Kalay-Khampat-Tamu road 210 miles (337 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa. Regime forces regained control of Khampat town on June 20.
Tamu residents were urged to evacuate due to the escalating conflict on July 21, according to the PDF. The NUG fully administers Sagaing’s Shwe Pyi Aye, Myothit and Pinlebu towns, and partially controls Tamu. The regime counteroffensive in Sagaing began in April following the recapture of Tigyaing town.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,350 MMK)
