The regime has scaled back its plans for an election on December 28 with observers dismissing the process as a sham.

The regime is rallying a cast of prominent military loyalists to front its poll farce.

The United Wa State Party said Beijing’s sanctions had forced it to end military and financial aid to its allies the TNLA, MNDAA and SSPP.

The regime is fighting to recover territory from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army ahead of the election it has promised for December 28. 

For Beijing, peace-making abroad is never altruistic but always being put in the service of economic or geopolitical advantage, says Rishan Sen.

Unidentified resistance fighters ambushed a junta outpost in Sagaing Region on Sunday while regime forces were raiding surrounding villages.

Resistance reports fierce fighting as regime’s Operation Yan Naing Min pushes to retake towns, villages, and key routes in southern Shan and Karenni states.

Repatriation of around 1 million refugees to Myanmar on the agenda, but experts question international commitment to sustainable solutions for the crisis.   

For decades, the Myanmar military has employed Washington’s sharpest lobbyists to improve its image on the global stage—with invariably disastrous results.

This week’s Irrawaddy editorial discussion asks if China can achieve its goal of creating a stable Myanmar.

Shutdown of No. 2 Friendship Bridge from Myawaddy to Mae Sot catches Thailand off guard, disrupting $120 million in monthly trade and boosting fuel prices in Karen State.

Joe Kumbun explains why the victorious AA has halted its conquests in Rakhine, and three townships remain under junta control—for now.

Visiting Magwe, a resistance stronghold, the junta boss claimed his planned poll has international backing; he urged troops and locals to ‘do their duty’ and vote.

Locals fear fresh fighting and regime airstrikes, as public anger grows over mediator China’s silence on civilian casualties.

Karenni State’s Interim Executive Council said the airstrike was the deadliest ever in the state and urged global action in response to the junta’s war crimes.

At least two children were killed in the aerial massacre in Mawchi, a town that has been controlled by the Karenni resistance since January 2024.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance has cemented control of a key China-Myanmar trade gate, turning it into a steady revenue source and a test of its governance capacity.

Fierce fighting is reported on the main trade artery to Myawaddy, gateway to Thailand.  

Branded as fraudulent by international monitors, the election is set to take place with much of country beyond regime control.

Even those who manage to hold on to one of the few remaining jobs in the locked-down Rakhine State capital don’t make enough money to eat, locals report.

Also this week, the junta vowed polls ‘no matter what’, while restricting distribution of AIDS medication and seeking support in Wa State.

The junta’s murderous repression, hare-brained economic policies, and forced subscription have drained the country of its most precious resource: its young people.

Six ethnic organizations said Beijing is pressuring the TNLA to cede territory while supplying arms to the regime and backing its December election.

China’s support for the junta’s proposed election is tied to its strategic interests in a stable Myanmar, and it has pressured resistance forces to agree to ceasefires.

Several major ethnic armed organizations say they will not allow voting booths to be set up in territories they control.

State bordering China harbors rich deposits of rare earth minerals, essential for making everything from electric cars to defense systems.

Beijing outlines a stability-first election agenda for Myanmar, prioritizing peace, unity and development to safeguard Chinese strategic and economic interests.

Junta blockades, soaring prices and US aid cuts are driving a sharp rise in hunger and malnutrition across conflict-hit Rakhine State.

Systematic rape and sexual humiliation are among the crimes in junta detention centers being investigated by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.

Overview of the western state conflict shows ethnic army pushing for control of the capital but vulnerable to coastal incursions.

At the first meeting of the junta’s State Security and Peace Commission, Min Aung Hlaing ordered swift trials for ‘disruptors’ and a military push to expand voting areas.

This week’s Irrawaddy editorial discussion asks if Min Aung Hlaing will take responsibility for his crimes.

A recent meeting with KIA and NUG representatives in the Kachin rebels’ mountain fastness of Laiza was highly productive, says Chin Brotherhood spokesman Salai Yaw Man.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army’s general secretary was bullish Tuesday as the armed group readies itself for more China-brokered “peace” talks with the junta this month.

Resistance groups in Sagaing Township say 16 people trapped on the Sagaing–Shwebo road were killed.