Regime envoy attends Ayatollah’s funeral in Iran
Tin Aung San, the regime President’s Office Minister and National Security Advisor to Min Aung Hlaing, attended Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral in Tehran on Friday, regime media reported. Khamenei was assassinated on the first day of combined U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeting high-ranking Iranian regime officials in Tehran on Feb. 28.
Regime media reported that Tin Aung San held talks with officials from Iran’s Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs on enhancing bilateral relations and economic cooperation July 1-5. Tin Aung San was elected to the Pyithu Hlutttaw, or lower house of parliament, for Naypyidaw’s Ottarathiri Township representing the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the regime’s 2025-26 elections.
He served as the Burma Navy chief from 2015-21, then as one of the regime’s six deputy prime ministers and defence minister in August 2023 but was dismissed from the post in December 2024. Tin Aung San has been sanctioned by the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and the E.U., since 2021. Check out our DVB Myanmar Sanctions Monitor
Starlink satellite internet blackout in Myanmar?
Thousands of residents and resistance fighters in Burma are facing sudden communication blackouts after Starlink deactivated terminals across the country. The move, aimed at crippling illicit cyber scam operations, has inadvertently severed a vital lifeline for regions under a military-imposed internet shutdown.
According to local sources, terminals have been offline since Thursday in resistance-controlled areas, including Kachin, Karenni, and Arakan states, as well as the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Service providers estimate that more than 20 per cent of the Starlink terminals currently active inside Burma have been deactivated.
Since the military regime imposed sweeping communications blackouts across central Myanmar and several ethnic borderland states in 2022, resistance forces, including the People’s Defence Force (PDF), and civilians have heavily relied on Starlink to connect to the outside world. Read more on our website
Protest at Chinese Consulate in Chiang Mai turns chaotic
A peaceful rally outside the Chinese Consulate General in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Monday descended into chaos after Thai police physically blocked protesters from approaching the building. The rally was organized to demand accountability from Beijing regarding toxic heavy metal contamination linked to Chinese-backed mining operations in neighbouring Burma.
Organized by the People’s Network for the Protection of the Kok, Sai, Ruak, and Mekong Rivers, the rally sought to draw international attention to the devastating transboundary impacts of unregulated rare earth and gold mining along the Burma-Thailand border. The rally was abruptly disrupted when Thai police deployed officers and barricades to prevent the crowd from reaching the front of the consulate.
Authorities cited traffic management and security concerns as the reasons for the restrictions. A physical confrontation quickly ensued between officers and demonstrators attempting to push forward. At least two protesters were severely injured during the scuffle, with medics confirming that one individual suffered a broken arm and another a dislocated shoulder. Read more and see our photos
News by Region
ARAKAN—Residents of Thandwe Township told DVB that over 80 youth detained for months without trial for attempting “to leave Arakan State” were forcibly recruited by the Arakan Army (AA) in late June. Thandwe, located 180 miles (290 km) south of the state capital Sittwe, was seized by the AA in July 2024.
The AA issued a National Defence Emergency Provision on March 18, 2025, barring males 18-45 and females 18-25 from leaving the 14 of 17 townships under its control “until the emergency period caused by the ongoing conflict ends.” All youth are required to serve at least two years with the AA.
BAGO—Residents in Nattalin Township told DVB that two people were injured and 60 homes were damaged by a tornado on Sunday. Damaged power lines and telecommunications towers have hampered damage assessments. Nattalin is located 137 miles (220 km) north of the region’s capital.
At least three people were injured and at least 120 homes were damaged by tornadoes across Yangon and Bago regions, as well as in Arakan State, on July 5. The extreme weather forced hundreds of residents to seek temporary shelter with relatives, or at monasteries and schools, residents and rescue workers told DVB. Read more on our website
MAGWAY—The statue of Burma independence hero General Aung San, the father of detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, was toppled and destroyed in Yesagyo Township on Sunday. The statue was unveiled on July 14, 2019, during the National League for Democracy (NLD) government.
Residents told DVB that the nine-foot (2.7-metre) statue, weighing around 4,900 kg, was removed ahead of Martyrs’ Day on July 19, which commemorates the assassination of Aung San in 1947. At least eight Aung San statues have reportedly been demolished nationwide since the 2021 coup.
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