National Unity Government ‘detains’ resistance members
The Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA) Chief Commander Maung Saungkha shared on social media Saturday that he is holding talks with the National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Defence about the detention of a leader and four members of an armed group called the National Liberation Army, which was formerly a People’s Defence Force (PDF) that split from the NUG on March 5, 2023.
The five National Liberation Army members were reportedly detained by the NUG on Friday. Maung Saungkha said that the group is a member of the Spring Revolution Alliance (SRA), which was established on Dec. 15. The reported detentions follow an online meeting between the SRA and the NUG on Feb. 27, where the two sides agreed to set aside differences and solve conflict between allied resistance forces through dialogue.
The SRA is a coalition of 19 armed resistance groups that are not under NUG command, according to its founding statement on Dec. 15. Min Han Htet, an SRA spokesperson, shared on social media on March 6 that the NUG detained some “leadership members” of the SRA, without sharing further details. The NUG hasn’t made any public statement about the reported arrest and detention of SRA members.
Will a ‘stronger approach’ on Myanmar work at the UN?
The London-based human rights watchdog Burma Campaign UK issued a statement on Friday after the U.K. convened a private meeting on the crisis in Burma at the U.N. Security Council (UNSC). It called on the British government, as “penholder” on Burma at the UNSC, to push for a “stronger focus” on human rights, and to highlight how the military in Burma has violated “numerous [UNSC] resolutions.”
“In the five years since the coup, the [UNSC] has failed to have any impact. Time is long overdue to try new approaches,” said Anna Roberts, the executive director at Burma Campaign UK. “All the problems at the Security Council cannot be blamed on obstruction by Russia and China. The U.K. has taken a narrow and cautious approach which just isn’t working. Simply convening a meeting isn’t progress, it’s process.”
The U.K. still has not convened a UNSC meeting to discuss why Burma has never implemented the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to prevent genocide from continuing against the Rohingya. The U.N. Special Envoy on Burma Julie Bishop and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Special Envoy on Burma Theresa Lazaro addressed the UNSC meeting on March 6.
Myanmar students face ‘uncertainty’ after UK visa ‘brake’
Students in Burma who have been planning to study in the U.K. and others who had already received admission offers from British universities told DVB that they are facing “uncertainty” and visa delays after London suspended student visa applications from four countries, including Burma, on Tuesday. The British embassy in Yangon did not add when visa processing would resume.
“People who have already applied and are about to go are facing huge difficulties. It’s really sad to see so many opportunities lost,” a graduate from Burma currently studying at a university in the U.K. told DVB. The embassy announced a temporary suspension of student visa processing for applicants from Burma, Afghanistan, Cameroon and Sudan, calling it a “visa brake.”
The U.K. Home Office stated that asylum applications by students from the four countries increased more than five times from 2021 to 2025, but did not provide a country-by-country breakdown. It cited asylum claims by Afghan nationals on work visas now exceeding the number of visas issued. Burma has faced widespread conflict and displacement since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Read more
Women from Myanmar participate in events for International Women’s Day at Chiang Mai University in Thailand on March 8. Read more and check out our photo essay from #IWD2026. (Credit: DVB)
News by Region
KARENNI—The Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC) told DVB that five family members of detained regime soldiers were killed and around 20 others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force near a detention center in Mese Township on Thursday.
Banyar Aung, the IEC secretary 2, told DVB that one male and four females, including an eight-year-old, were killed. Mese, located along the Burma-Thailand border is 109 miles (175 km) south of the state capital Loikaw. It was seized by Karenni resistance forces in November 2023. Read more
SAGAING—Residents of Kani Township told DVB that nine civilians, including three Buddhist novices, were killed and 15 others were injured in three villages during an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or drone, strike on Saturday. Kani is located 37 miles (59 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa.
A PDF member told DVB that one of three drones struck a monastery in Natlapo village during a donation ceremony. He added that it was fired from the Northwestern Regional Military Command (RMC) in Monywa. A military counteroffensive has reached Kani’s Kyuntaung village, which is controlled by the PDF.
YANGON—Drivers told DVB that a new fuel saving measure caused “inconvenience” as it came into effect on March 7. Under the scheme, even-numbered plates are allowed to operate on even dates, and odd-numbered plates on odd-numbered dates. Electric vehicles and public transportation such as trains and buses are exempt.
A taxi driver told DVB that there were fewer cars on the roads. The regime warned businesses and individuals not to hoard fuel for resale at inflated prices, saying that violators would be prosecuted. It claimed on March 4 that Burma has a 40-day fuel reserve and will not face shortages despite disruptions to the global energy supply chain.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 3,945 MMK)
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