Myanmar civil war

A junta jet dropped a 500-pound bomb on Pannilar Village in Ponnagyun Township shortly after 2:00 p.m. on 23 October, killing a woman and injuring two others, including an internally displaced person, residents told Development Media Group. The strike landed in front of the local school.

An explosion near an intersection on Min Bar Gyi Road in Sittwe killed at least nine people and left at least five others in critical condition, DVB reported. A resident said a Myanmar Air Force fighter jet was seen over Sittwe before the blast; it remains unclear who was responsible.

Fierce clashes continued for a second consecutive day on Ngapyi Island near Sittwe on 22 October, with remnants of a junta amphibious assault force still trapped there, Development Media Group reported, citing local sources. An Arakan Army spokesperson said several junta troops had surrendered.

Junta air attacks on urban wards and nearby villages in Werathani Township late on 20 October killed four civilians and injured four others, including a volunteer with the Pauktaw Social Assistance Association, according to local residents cited by Development Media Group.

A regime gyrocopter attack killed six women, including a mother and her three daughters, in Budalin Township, Sagaing Region, on Tuesday, Myanmar Now reported.

The TNLA announced that 54 members led by Gu Si had 'severed ties' with it and that action would be taken against them, DVB reported. A source close to the military told DVB the 54, ethnic Lisu who defected to regime forces in Mogok Township, would form a pro-regime militia.

Fierce fighting erupted between the military and the Arakan Army at three locations near the Regional Operations Command in Sittwe, the military's last remaining headquarters in Arakan State, Development Media Group reported. A military source said intense ground fighting continued at all three locations on the morning of 19 October.

Over 200 troops launched an amphibious assault on Ngapyi Island near Sittwe at about 5:00 AM on 18 October, Narinjara reported through Burma News International. Local sources said the Arakan Army ambushed the landing and killed at least 50 soldiers; part of the force later gained a temporary foothold. It was the third major attempt in a month.

Airstrikes killed at least 5 people near Chaung Son Village in Paletwa Township, Chin State, and 5 people in Ohn Taw village in Pakokku Township, Magway Region, on 18 October, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said, citing reports from the ground. The group also reported at least 10 killed on 16 October in Yesagyo Township.

The military government extended martial law for another 90 days in 55 townships, down from 58, DVB reported, lifting the order in Ngazun in Mandalay Region and in Kyaukme and Hsipaw in Shan State. The office of commander-in-chief Ye Win Oo said normal conditions had returned in the three townships.

Min Aung Hlaing renewed his invitation to the Chin National Front, the Karen National Union and the All Burma Students' Democratic Front to join peace talks, at a ceremony in Naypyitaw marking the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement anniversary. A CNF spokesperson, Salai Htet Ni, said working under the NCA framework was no longer practical.

KIO/KIA rejected the military's offer of peace talks, Myanmar Now reported. The group said the offer comes as the regime increases its military presence in Kachin State and would have no impact on the situation on the ground.

The Arakan Army captured as many as nine military outposts in Amyint Kyun and Yaychanpyin villages near Sittwe as fighting spread to Yaychanpyin, a military source said, according to Development Media Group. The source said continuing airstrikes and heavy artillery shelling made full control on the ground difficult.

Local sources told Development Media Group that the Arakan Army had captured multiple military outposts near Amyint Kyun and Pardaleik villages in Sittwe Township after crossing the Minchaung Bridge in early October. They said troops still held the police station and monastery inside Amyint Kyun.

Military troops set fire to a Kachin Baptist Convention church and surrounding homes in downtown Bhamo, Kachin State, at about 3:30 p.m. on 12 October, local sources told Network Media Group. A local source said it was not known how many houses were destroyed.

Heavy fighting continued on Ngapyi Island near Sittwe, where the military has tried amphibious landings since 7 October, Development Media Group reported. According to local sources, the military had a foothold in parts of the island and the Arakan Army was reinforcing to counterattack.

An aerial bombing of Mahasi Monastery in Seik Khun Village, Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region, on 11 October reportedly killed two displaced people who were sheltering there and injured many others, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said. The meditation center was also damaged.

A military drone strike on Nat Yay Twin Village in Indaw Township, Sagaing Region, killed a 10-year-old child on 11 October, according to local reports cited by Development Media Group. Fighting in Indaw has continued since a military offensive began on 5 October.

Myanmar Air Force airstrikes on Sin Ein village in Pauktaw Township, Arakan State, killed at least seven civilians and injured 17, DVB reported; a humanitarian aid worker in Arakan Army territory said five civilian deaths were confirmed. Residents said fighting between the AA and regime forces was taking place along the road to Pauktaw.

The military deployed at least six warships from its Shwe Min Gan naval base in Sittwe in amphibious assaults on Ngapyi Island, held by the Arakan Army; AA artillery hit one warship, which caught fire and retreated, local military sources told Burma News International. Casualty figures were unconfirmed.

Drone-dropped munitions from a coalition led by the Kachin Independence Army struck a combined government office in Hpakant, Kachin State, during a meeting of officials, civil society representatives and mining company executives, killing at least one person, according to local sources cited by Burma News International.

Military jets bombed the former Military Operations Command 5 headquarters and former battalion bases near Taungup town, Rakhine State, for about an hour; two residents died of cardiac arrest and another was wounded by shrapnel, local residents and sources told the Development Media Group.

Military jets bombed gold-mining rafts worked mainly by displaced people in the Thahpanseik reservoir in Kyunhla township, Sagaing Region, killing at least 10 people, according to local sources cited by Burma News International; a resident said search teams had not recovered several bodies.

A military air strike on a camp for displaced people in Ponnagyun township, Rakhine State, killed two civilians and injured two, the Arakan Army and the Ponnagyun Youth Association said, a day after strikes on another camp in the township.

ISP-Myanmar said in an analysis that the military had deployed around 2,000 troops in a multi-front offensive against the Arakan Army since early September but had so far failed to regain territory, the Development Media Group reported.

Fighting resumed in Hpakant township, Kachin State, when military troops advanced towards jade trading hubs near Kuday and Hmawsisar and exchanged fire with the Kachin Independence Army; artillery fire on a jade trading site killed one civilian and injured another, residents said.

Two air strikes by the Myanmar military on a camp for displaced people in Ponnagyun township, Rakhine State, which the Arakan Army has held since March 2024, killed at least six residents and injured seven, DVB reported.

Military air strikes on Chaung-U, Sagaing Region, killed at least two residents of a camp for displaced people, DVB reported.

Kachin Independence Army-led forces overran a military camp on Shwemyintin Pagoda Hill in Momeik (Mongmit) township, northern Shan State, as fighting continued in five Kachin State townships, including Bhamo.

A military air strike on a market in Kyauktaw township, Rakhine State, reportedly killed at least 50 people and injured at least 58. The UN Secretary-General condemned it and called for those responsible to be held to account.

A delegation of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army began its first talks with the military's peace committee in Naypyitaw, after a Ta'ang National Liberation Army delegation held talks there in July.

The military began a counteroffensive against the Arakan Army in Rakhine State's Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Thandwe townships; DVB reported more than 5,000 residents displaced in Kyaukphyu.

A military air strike on a Buddhist monastery hosting a religious retreat in Myaung township, Sagaing Region, killed 14 people and injured 20, according to a local opposition group and a resident.

State media said the army retook Mawtaung, a trading town on the Thai border held by the Karen National Union and allied groups, and the next day Tonzang in Chin State. The claims could not be independently confirmed.

President Min Aung Hlaing invited ethnic armed organisations to join peace talks within 100 days and urged the People's Defence Forces to surrender.

Parliament elected Min Aung Hlaing, the military chief who led the 2021 coup, as president with 429 of the 584 votes cast.

The final phase of the military-organised general election was held; the results gave the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party 339 of the 420 elective seats contested.