News Monitor #9
MARCH 2026

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NEWS ROUNDUP

• Following the recent elections, the junta convened national and state-level parliaments dominated by its Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stepped down as armed forces commander in preparation for his new role as president, after his selection by parliament.

• Amid record petrol costs, the junta has imposed nationwide restrictions on fuel distribution, driving up transportation and basic goods prices while fueling black market activity and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

• The regime continued heavy bombardments on civilian targets, including aerial attacks on IDP camps, schools and religious sites. Among numerous other incidents, a junta airstrike at a busy Magway trading junction killed two dozen civilians.

HUMAN RIGHTS & SECURITY

• The junta granted amnesty to 7,300 prisoners on Peasant’s Day, March 2, and dropped charges against nearly 12,500 others accused of supporting “terrorist” resistance groups, continuing a tradition of releasing prisoners on national holidays.

• Nine human rights groups sent a letter to new Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, urging him to protect the rights of over a million Rohingya refugees and establish a strong and independent National Human Rights Commission. Onlookers hope to see Rahman quickly transcend the abusive legacy of exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

• India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested seven foreign nationals who were volunteering for and linked to anti-junta forces as they prepared to return to their home countries on their way back from Myanmar.

ARMED CONFLICT

• Chin State: Local youth reportedly fled their homes in several townships, with some entering Mizoram, India in refusal of new mandatory conscription efforts by the Chinland Defense Force and Chinland Council. On March 29, a junta aerial attack in Paletwa Township using two jet fighters resulted in four casualties. 

• Mon State: Forensic A new report by Data for Myanmar found that over 600 civilians have been killed in the state since the 2021 coup.

• Kachin State: Junta airstrikes killed around 30 gold miners in Bhamo on March 10. Tensions mounted between the junta-allied Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Monghnyin Township.

• Kayin/Karen State: A junta drone strike killed three civilians and two DKBA members in Myawaddy Township, illustrating rising tensions between the junta and DKBA. The Myanmar military has also intensified offensives in Karen State as it seeks to reopen the Asia Highway, one of the country’s most critical trade routes to the Thai border. Daily clashes intensified near resistance positions near Kawkareik.

• Kayah/Karenni State: A woman was injured by a landmine explosion in Loikaw Township, where incidents persist despite local authorities stating that mine clearance is underway. Five women were killed in a junta airstrike on a detention camp on March 5.

• Rakhine State: On March 8, an airstrike on a Rakhine POW camp killed 116 regime soldiers who had previously surrendered to the Arakan Army (AA), likely a deliberate attack by the junta against its own troops as a warning that surrender will not be tolerated.

• Shan State: The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) seized Kutkai town, located on an important trade route, from its Brotherhood Alliance ally, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), consolidating its control of northern Shan in a move apparently approved of by China.

• Ayarwaddy Division: Junta airstrikes and shellings escalated across several townships, causing civilians to flee. 3,000 residents in Thabaung Township and 1,000 in Lemyethna Township have been displaced. 

• Bago Division: On March 5, while using 160 civilians as human shields, junta forces gunned down and killed five civilians who were fleeing on foot in Ler Doh Township. On March 7, 25 civilians were killed in a junta attack using drones and fighter jets. On March 10, joint resistance forces rescued more than 300 civilians taken hostage by regime troops following a mass killing in Nyaunglebin Township.

• Magway Division: On March 1, at least 25 were killed and 20 wounded in two junta airstrikes using heavy bombs at a busy trading junction. Two resistance fighters were killed and two others badly wounded on March 22 when infighting erupted between resistance groups in Tilin Township.

• Mandalay Division: After a month-long major offensive, the junta recaptured Taguang town, the last resistance stronghold in northern Mandalay.

• Sagaing Division: On March 27, the regime conducted an airstrike on a monastery sheltering IDPs in Katha town, Sagaing Region, killing dozens of people, including monks. In Tigyaing Township, as ground battles intensified, the junta launched three consecutive days of airstrikes on villages from March 8 to 10, killing  at least ten civilians.

• Tanintharyi Division: People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) allegedly killed “dozens” of regime troops across towns in Myeik. Allied KNU-PDF troops seized a junta outpost after four days of fighting in Thayetchaung Township which killed around 20 displaced civilians.

HUMANITARIAN, ECONOMIC & SOCIAL CONDITIONS

• The fuel crisis worsened due to the war in the Middle East, affecting food production, driving hunger, and doubling the prices of basic necessities. Local outlets discuss this pattern in Ayeyarwady, Sagaing, Mon, and nationwide. 

• Water shortages in Karenni displacement camps worsened amid dry summer conditions. UNHCR estimates that nearly 140,000 people - 4 percent of the Karenni population - are currently displaced, though the number could be much higher.

U.S. INTERNATIONAL & REGIONAL
POLITICS DIPLOMACY

• The UN Human Rights Council appointed Kelley Eckels-Currie as the new Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar.

• The UN Security Council held a private meeting on Myanmar on March 6, the first since the sham elections organized by the military. The private proceedings reportedly included an update on ASEAN’s engagement on Myanmar, as well as a review of the Rohingya crisis.

• Senators Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Young (R-Ind.) introduced the Bringing Real Accountability Via Enforcement in Burma (BRAVE) Act with cosponsorship from Senators McConnell (R-Ky.) and Merkley (D-Ore.). The legislation aims to sanction the Myanmar military government and foreign entities that finance its military campaign, thus countering the growing influence of China and Russia in the region. It also restricts Myanmar’s borrowing ability at the IMF and establishes a Special Envoy for Burma at the State Department. The House of Representatives has previously passed a different version of the BRAVE Burma Act in February.

• Members of U.S. Congress, led by House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Rubio as the administration’s review its Burma policy. The letter provides recommendations including isolating and delegitimizing the junta; holding the junta accountable for its violence, human rights abuses, and scam centers through sanctions; appointing a senior official to coordinate U.S. Burma policy; and supporting Rohingya and other refugees in the region through humanitarian assistance.

• The UK Home Office has imposed an “emergency brake” on sponsored study visas for Burmese and other applicants to avoid admitting students who later claim asylum. Human rights and civil society groups warn that the measure undermines humanitarian protection and access to education.

ROHINGYA CRISIS

• On March 1, the Bangladesh Coast Guard rescued 153 people (including women and children) and at least 15 suspected human traffickers near Saint Martin’s island. The individuals included Rohingya and Bangladeshi citizens reportedly waiting to be smuggled to Malaysia.

• The AA met with Rohingya community leaders in Buthidaung Township, pressuring young girls and boys to conscript. Families are fearful of the increasingly coercive pressure from the AA to provide recruits, with many girls attempting to flee to Malaysia. 

• Multiple landmine explosions caused civilian casualties near the Bangladesh border, including on March 26 and March 29.

• In Bangladesh, the UN World Food Programme introduced a new food aid system for Rohingya, causing many families to receive reduced rations. Some refugees will receive only 7 dollars per month for food going forward.

DOMESTIC POLITICS

• Following the recent elections, the junta convened national and state-level parliaments dominated by its Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stepped down as armed forces commander in preparation for his new role as president, following his selection by parliament.

• On March 2, Peasant’s Day, the junta granted an amnesty (as it frequently does on public holidays) to 7,300 prisoners convicted of financing or sheltering “terrorist” groups, a designation used to outlaw pro-democracy factions opposing its rule.

• The Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF) has formally established the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union, reaffirming the commitment of several key resistance leaders to support equal rights for all ethnic nationalities and dismantle the junta. 

BUSINESS, TRADE & NATURAL RESOURCES

• The junta responded to the obstruction of oil shipments from the Middle East by implementing a fuel rationing system for private vehicles. The fuel crisis is driving up transportation and basic goods prices while fueling black market activity and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

• Workers at rare earth mines in Kachin called for action to address ongoing wage exploitation.

• Conflict Armament Research linked a Myanmar-based company to the motor of an Iranian uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) after an attack on the Iraq-Syria border, indicating a previously unknown supply chain connection.

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