Ta’ang National Liberation Army claims 5 killed by airstrikes
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) claimed on Saturday that five civilians, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed and 12 others were injured by air- and artillery strikes carried out by the military on Momeik and Nawnghkio townships of northern Shan State Feb. 20-22. Momeik and Nawnghkio are located 96-171 (154-275 km) miles south and west of the regional capital Lashio.
“A total of six civilians have been killed and 15 others have been injured from Feb. 16 to 22,” the TNLA stated on social media. More than 11 homes, a hospital, and a monastery were destroyed in the attacks. Graphic images released by the TNLA and the Shwe Phee Myay News Agency showed residents killed on their beds in their homes.
China-brokered peace talks between the TNLA and the regime in Naypyidaw came to an end on Feb. 17 after both sides were unable to reach an agreement, the TNLA announced on Wednesday. The talks between regime officials and nine TNLA representatives, including Vice Chair Tar Jok Jar, began in Kunming, China on Feb. 16.
Myanmar experts support Argentina arrest warrants
The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) called on the international community to enforce 25 arrest warrants issued by an Argentine court for senior military and civilian leaders in Burma, including jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Htin Kyaw for their alleged roles in crimes committed against the Rohingya.
“Htin Kyaw, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the other 23 individuals named will have every opportunity to defend themselves against any charges, as is their right, and will be treated according to international standards of justice,” SAC-M stated in its press release on Feb. 20. Aung San Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year prison sentence in Naypyidaw and has been held by the regime since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
The SAC-M urged the 25 individuals, including regime leader Min Aung Hlaing and his deputy Soe Win, to surrender to the Argentine court to face justice. The case, opened in 2021, is based on a 2019 petition by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) which examines genocide and crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya in northern Arakan State.
ASEAN Secretary-General meets Special Envoy on Myanmar
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn met with Othman Hashim, the ASEAN Special Envoy on Burma’s crisis at the ASEAN Headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday. Hashim is the former secretary general of Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“They exchanged views on ASEAN’s efforts to advance the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, including in delivering humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar,” stated ASEAN in a press release on Feb. 21. The ASEAN Five Point Consensus is the regional bloc’s peace plan for Burma.
Othman Hashim met with resistance groups from Burma, including the National Unity Government (NUG), in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb, 8. This followed his visit to Naypyidaw, where he met with the regime Feb. 6-7. He was appointed to the role of ASEAN Special Envoy on Burma on Jan. 19.
News by Region
YANGON—Members of the Sanchaung Strike Group held a flash mob protest to mark what anti-coup activists called the “Five-Two Movement [22.2.2025]” at an undisclosed location on Saturday. All of its members were able to disperse after the protest and nobody was arrested.
“Despite the extremely tight security imposed by the military, we successfully carried out the protest,” the group shared on social media. In July, anti-coup groups commemorated the two-year anniversary of the execution of pro-democracy activists Phyo Zeyar Thaw, Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Ko Jimmy), Hla Myo Aung, and Aung Thura Zaw.
Anonymous sources inside Insein prison told DVB that three political prisoners, including jailed Myanmar Now photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike, were sent to an interrogation center one day after allegedly sharing information about their imprisonment with the regime’s Myanmar National Human Rights Commission during an inspection of the prison.
“I’m not sure they have been returned to their cells yet,” one of the sources told DVB. The three political prisoners are serving 7-20 years for violating the Unlawful Associations Act, the Counter Terrorism Law, the Telecommunications Law, the Natural Disaster Management Law and the Sedition Law. They were arrested from 2021-23.
SHAN—The TNLA political wing, the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF), announced that it will appoint 1,000 new teachers to more than 700 schools, where 500 teachers are already employed in TNLA-controlled areas, including the Palaung Self-Administered Zone in northern Shan for the 2025-26 academic year.
In the previous academic year, the PSLF had 3,500 teachers – who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement CDM in opposition to the 2021 military coup – at 600 schools teaching over 66,000 students. The TNLA controls 11 townships in northern Shan State and Mogok Township in Mandalay Region.
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