News Monitor #11
MAY 2026

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NEWS ROUNDUP

• The junta launched major offensives to regain territory previously taken by resistance forces and made major gains in northern Chin State and in the north, where it took control of a key supply route used by the resistance. 
  

• Despite claims to have cracked down on scam centers, observers noted that the junta’s operations appeared to be superficial, with major centers continuing to operate and reports of trafficking of workers.
  

• The U.S.-Iran conflict is having a negative impact on civilians and farmers as prices for fuel and other goods are rising sharply, including fertilizer.

HUMAN RIGHTS & SECURITY

• On May 6, 52 Chinese and four Myanmar nationals running a telecom scam operation in southern Shan State were arrested by junta forces following FBI warnings. More visible and largely superficial crackdowns on scam centers are taking place, such as in Muse, but epicenters like Shwe Koko remain largely untouched. 

• In India, police arrested a drug kingpin from Chin State. In Myanmar, police seized 77kg of heroin and 4 million stimulant tablets in Sagaing and Mandalay region. The Arakan Army (AA) also seized 3.2 million methamphetamine tablets in Bago and the Karen National Union (KNU) burned shipments of illegal drugs.

• In accordance with the Conscription Law revived in 2024 to increase junta troop numbers following the deaths and defection of thousands of soldiers, Defense Minister General Tun Aung instructed regional authorities to compile lists of roughly 13 million citizens deemed eligible for conscription.

ARMED CONFLICT

• Chin State: After an eight-month offensive, the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) retook control of the north territory including Falam town - reportedly using internationally banned cluster munitions -and prepared for a major offensive in the south, with civilians told to evacuate. The southern offensive is reportedly stalling amid heavy junta casualties.

• Mon State: Resistance forces shot down a military junta paramotor during a series of offensives. The Ye Belu group killed a high-ranking Myanmar military commander on May 11 in Lamaing Town.

• Kachin State: The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) announced a shift to a defensive strategy. Despite claiming to be open to peace talks, the junta prepared for military offensives on multiple fronts and sought to reclaim territory rich in rare earths.

• Kayin/Karen State: A junta airstrike on mineral mines caused numerous casualties, including a foreign Chinese businessman and at least ten others. 

• Kayah/Karenni State: The MAF burned down a Catholic Church compound in an ongoing campaign of religious persecution. 

• Rakhine State: The junta dropped heavy airstrikes dropped heavy airstrikes in Kyauktaw and Minbya townships. Ground troops were forced to retreat due to AA advances. Rohingya in Buthidaung said that homes were being seized by the AA following accusations of collaboration with the military. 

• Shan State: Junta officials demanded that the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) withdraw from its positions within the month. More than 70 young men were detained by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in a forced recruitment effort under the guise of drug allegations.

• Ayarwaddy Division: Junta forces faced heavy assaults from the AA and People’s Defence Force (PDFs). Thousands of students lost access to education due to school closures amid fighting.

• Bago Division: Six local residents, including three children, were killed and five others injured following junta airstrikes on villages in Phyu and Htan Tabin Townships. The AA launched assaults on four strategic outposts in Padaung Township.

• Magway Division: Junta forces launched a multi-day offensive in Salin Township using heavy artillery and air support. Rival resistance forces launched joint attacks against junta advances.

• Sagaing Division: The junta faced fierce resistance but reasserted control over the Mandalay–Myitkyina Highway after seizing Mawlu, a key resistance supply route connecting to China.

• Tanintharyi Division: The junta took a camp in Thayetchaung Township and a junta column traveled down the Yangon–Dawei Highway, a key trade route, attacking villages along the way. Residents fled clashes as the MAF attempted to reclaim the strategic border town of Maw Taung.

• Yangon: Local authorities increased arrests of Rakhine youth on  “guest lists” deemed fit for military conscription. Youth in townships across Yangon feared forced recruitment, with reports of mass arrests taking place every night.

HUMANITARIAN, ECONOMIC & SOCIAL CONDITIONS

• According to the UN World Food Programme, the Middle East crisis has impacted Myanmar by driving up prices, putting even further strain on local communities already under pressure. In response, the EU provided 8 million euros for humanitarian relief. The struggle to find enough food has left 16.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

• The U.S.-Iran conflict has not slowed the junta’s campaign of aerial attacks, despite the usage of Iranian jet fuel, but is negatively impacting civilians and farmers as prices for fuel and other goods rise sharply, including the cost of fertilizer.

• In Rakhine, ongoing trade and aid blockades caused a severe shortage of essential consumer goods imported from the Myanmar interior by way of Magway. In northern Shan, import blockades of Chinese goods have caused the prices of commodities to increase significantly.

U.S. INTERNATIONAL & REGIONAL
POLITICS DIPLOMACY

• ASEAN members showed differing postures toward Myanmar: While The Philippines called on the junta to let detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi meet with an envoy from ASEAN, Thailand and others have been more conciliatory. Junta officials publicly criticized ASEAN for “discriminatory measures.”

• China was accused of moving its border fencing several meters into Myanmar’s northern territory, with its allies from Kokang and Wa ethnic armed organizations complicit. The junta remained silent on the matter.

• As a U.S. Burma policy remains under review, a State Department official said the U.S. was committed to “supporting a path of peace and stability,” but there are indications that the administration is considering pathways to gain access to Myanmar’s rare earths. 

• Thailand announced a ten-year plan to close refugee camps along its Myanmar border.

ROHINGYA CRISIS

• Security conditions in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh deteriorated as Rohingya armed groups vied for power, causing concerns over the breakdown of the truce in place since last year. A Rohingya youth was injured in one of a series of gunfights.

• A decline in global assistance for the Rohingya crisis has led to calls for increased international support to improve living conditions, with Bangladesh promising to pursue improvements. UN agencies are seeking $710 million to support nearly 1.56 million refugees and locals.

• In India, authorities ordered the establishment of detention centers to house undocumented Rohingya in West Bengal, sparking fears of deportation.

DOMESTIC POLITICS

• The Suu Foundation demanded that the military junta release Aung San Suu Kyi as a precursor to progress and peace, and referred to Suu Kyi as a victim of “hostage diplomacy.”

• The junta (whose officials have a long history of using fortune telling and astrology for decision-making) touted the unearthing of a giant 11,000-carat ruby as a good omen for future prosperity under their rule.

RARE EARTHS, ENVIRONMENT AND
NATURAL RESOURCES

• The junta initiated military operations in regions rich in rare earth deposits.

• Youth in Myitkyina protested the restart of the Myitsone Dam project for its harmful social and environmental impacts The Kachin News Group argued that the junta’s resurrection of the long-cancelled  project was a tactic to distract attention from its recent defeats.

• News broke that junta and United Wa State Army officers trafficked enslaved scam center workers and forced them to work in Chinese-owned rare earth mines in eastern Shan State. 

• For the first time, Thai authorities linked unregulated rare earth mining in Shan State to dangerous levels of arsenic contamination in the Mekong River.

• While extracting rare earth minerals in Myanmar has been framed as a potential engine for economic development, a Stimson Center report described how in practice, these activities have increased armed conflict, weak government, and public and environmental health risks.

REPORTING AND ANALYSIS

• The Burmese Women’s Union recorded the killing of at least 44 women and girls in junta attacks in April alone. Most deaths resulted from airstrikes and the Mandalay Region recorded the highest number of women deaths, followed by Sagaing.

• The Burma Rohingya Organization UK published a report documenting increasing sexual violence and other abuses against girls and women in Rakhine State.

• The Karenni Human Rights Group reported that at least 27 civilians have been killed and 44 wounded during junta attacks in 2026 thus far, noting the toll on mental health. 

• The UN warned that children in Myanmar were being targeted in deadly airstrikes citing attacks on schools, playgrounds, and monasteries sheltering displaced people.

• The Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) found that Myanmar’s press freedom continued declining under repression including arrests, censorship, digital crackdowns, and restrictions on independent reporting documented across both junta- and some resistance-controlled areas.

• A new investigation by Bellingcat identified 115 villages in Rakhine State as partially or completely destroyed since the February 2021 military coup that overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government.

• Human Rights Watch released a detailed account of the May 2, 2024 Htan Shauk Khan village (Hoyyar Siri in Rohingya language) massacre by the AA in Rakhine State and its immediate aftermath, drawing on interviews with 41 witnesses.

• FORSEA published an account of continued migration by sea by Rohingya due to limited alternatives in seeking safety, despite the grave risks and often deadly results that come with these journeys.

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