News Monitor #7
JANUARY 2026

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NEWS ROUNDUP

• ICJ hearings took place from January 12 to 29 and included testimony from witnesses and expert evidence as well as legal arguments from both sides.

• Myanmar’s military party secured enough votes in the second round of voting to form a government and declared its overall victory after the final round on January 25 amid ongoing conflict and low voter turnout.

HUMAN RIGHTS & SECURITY

• Hearings were held at the International Court of Justice, where The Gambia, acting as a third-party state under the Genocide Convention, presented arguments against Myanmar, accusing it of committing genocide against the Rohingya. The proceedings marked a key phase in the long-running case; the case was pending at the end of the month after closing arguments on January 28 and 29.

• A report launched on January 15 by the Myanmar Women’s Union found that 792 women were killed by airstrikes, artillery and other forms of conflict-related violence in 2025.

• A Burma Research Institute report documented severe violations of religious freedom against Christians “across Chin, Kachin, Karenni, and Karen states, and Sagaing Region, including airstrikes and arson attacks against churches, intimidation and detention of clergy, and killings of Christian leaders.”

• According to data from People’s Goal (Pyi Thu Pann Tai), more than 2,578 military personnel, police officers, and militia members either became prisoners of war, defected from the Myanmar military, or surrendered to resistance forces in 2025.

ARMED CONFLICT

• Chin State: Four major southern Chin resistance forces consolidated, as announced in a January 16 press conference. The move aims to strengthen government and military capability. On January 12, junta airstrikes destroyed a community hospital. Clashes continued in Falam town for the third month.

• Mon State: Artillery fired by the Myanmar military killed a grandmother and a young child in Bilin Township on January 26. The Independent Mon News Agency reported on the rise of a thriving drug trade and impunity for narcotraffickers. 

• Kachin State: The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) made major advances in the strategic township of Bhamo, a turning point in the months-long battle. Meanwhile in Danai Township, tens of thousands of gold miners fled the area amid intense fighting.

• Kayin/Karen State: The KNU announced that nearly 300 junta troops had been killed in its Brigade 5 territory in 2025 alone. Heavy fighting persisted in Myawaddy Township as the junta tried to advance against Karen National Liberation Army and allied forces.

• Kayah/Karenni State: A January 14 drone and artillery attack by the junta damaged a church.

• Rakhine State: Fighting escalated near the state capital, Sittwe, during the second week of January - one of the junta’s last remaining strongholds in the region. The junta sent more than 400 troop reinforcements to Kyaukphyu, where fighting continued following heavy casualties. The junta continued to drop airstrikes on Arakan Army-controlled areas.

• Shan State: Starting January 21, junta officials began collecting population data in Lashio, causing fear among youth of intensified military conscription.

• Bago Division: A massive joint operation by resistance groups composed of People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and allies, launched in early January, had expanded into 26 townships by mid-month.

• Magway Division: A convoy transporting four Union Election Commission officials was attacked on January 6.

• Sagaing Division: On January 1, resistance forces marched on Katha Township, a strategic gateway to resource-rich Kachin State, despite heavy airstrikes and artillery by the junta. Fighting reportedly involves the KIA, PDFs, All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and members of the new Spring Revolution Alliance (SRA), according to sources.

• Tanintharyi Division: Dawei residents reported forced voting by military personnel brandishing arms and conducting door-to-door inspections. On January 10, junta airstrikes on a Karen National Union office killed a toddler.

HUMANITARIAN, ECONOMIC & SOCIAL CONDITIONS

• Medicine shortages worsened in southern Shan State following a ban on imports, now in its fifth month, with many towns reporting complete shortages of essential drugs.

• The European Union announced the allocation of €63 million in humanitarian aid to support civilians affected by conflict in Myanmar and to Rohingya refugees displaced in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the region.

U.S. INTERNATIONAL & REGIONAL
POLITICS DIPLOMACY

• After the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) briefed Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, the junta’s Minister of Foreign Affairs summoned Timor-Leste’s Chargé d’Affaires in Myanmar to the ministry’s office in Yangon.

• The Foreign Secretary of The Philippines unexpectedly traveled to Nay Pyi Taw on January to meet with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, a move seen as undermining ASEAN coherence on the Myanmar crisis.

• The junta reportedly approached the Pakistan government in pursuit of arms purchases.

ROHINGYA CRISIS

• Six years after charges of genocide and crimes against humanity were brought against Myanmar by The Gambia to the International Court of Justice, hearings began. This marks the first time the court has examined the merits of The Gambia’s case. 

• The defense claimed that its 2017 clearance operations, which resulted in the displacement of over 730,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, were counterterrorism operations in response to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The defense also said it had complied with provisional measures ordered by the court in January 2020.

• On January 3, Bangladesh detained a group of 273 Rohingya trying to get to Malaysia by sea and arrested the boat traffickers in charge of the operation.

• On January 3, Bangladesh discussed plans to “seal” the Rohingya camps ahead of the February 12 national elections, causing movement restrictions and other challenges for the refugee population while preventing humanitarian access, potentially affecting access to vital services.

• In northern Rakhine, the Arakan Army (AA) reportedly forced dozens of Rohingya youth to conscript.

• Confiscation of Rohingya assets and land continued amid forced relocations by the AA.

DOMESTIC POLITICS

• The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Peace Party (USDP) extended its lead after the second of three rounds of voting in Myanmar’s general elections, held January 11, winning 86 of 100 contested seats. The process has been widely denounced as a sham. 

• The third round of voting took place on January 25 and was followed by the junta’s declaration of victory. Democratic Voice of Burma published visualizations of the results and mapped areas where no election was held. Meanwhile, the UN reported that 170 people were killed in airstrikes during the month-long election period.

• The KNU denounced a declaration by the commander of the Kawthoolei Army (KTLA), who announced the separatist formation of a “Kawthoolei Republic.”

BUSINESS, TRADE & NATURAL RESOURCES

• China executed 11 individuals linked to Myanmar-based scam networks, part of a broader crackdown on transnational criminal syndicates operating out of border regions.

• Chinese nationals and other scammers fled operations centers near the Thai border amid crackdowns.

• Shan State residents complained that environmental issues were hardly discussed during political campaigns preceding the elections despite the urgent need to address toxic runoffs from gold and rare-earth mining. The contamination is poisoning rivers, polluting drinking water, affecting agriculture, and causing negative public health outcomes for more than one million people in the region.

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