Myanmar resistance alliance SCEF adds two new members
Two provisional governments based in central Burma, the Sagaing Federal Unit and the Mandalay Region Interim Administrative Council agreed to join the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF)—Burma’s premier resistance coalition—following two rounds of discussions, Aug. 13-14.
The SCEF announcement on Monday stated that the Mandalay Region Interim Administrative Council agreed to join SCEF after discussions on the structure and operational framework of the resistance alliance, while the Sagaing Federal Unit informed the SCEF separately of its decision to join.
On Aug. 8, the SCEF formally appointed the leadership structure of its military coordination mechanism, which includes senior representatives from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Karen National Union (KNU)—two of Burma’s leading ethnic armed organizations based along the borders of China and Thailand.
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Russian intelligence ‘risks’ in new digital trade portal
Whistleblower group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) has warned that a new digital trade system contracted to a sanctioned Russian IT firm poses severe security risks, potentially granting Moscow access to Myanmar citizens’ personal identity data and sensitive ASEAN trade records.
On Aug. 12, the Myanmar military regime signed an agreement with Russia’s Astra Group—sanctioned by the U.S. and Canada—to build the “National Single Window” online portal to process all import and export paperwork across regime-controlled ministries.
“This is part of the junta’s attempt to seize digital control. Any improvement in how the junta captures and analyses data can be used in its campaign of terror,” Yadanar Maung, Justice for Myanmar’s spokesperson, told DVB by email.
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Thinzar Shunlei Yi, an executive member of Sisters 2 Sisters, at International Women’s Day in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on March 8, 2025. (Credit: DVB)
Activist speaks out on youth jailed for protesting ‘sham’ elections
Pro-democracy activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi addressed the harsh prison sentences facing nine youth activists, the ethics of revolutionary warfare, and her personal transformation from a military family background in an exclusive interview with DVB English News.
“Young people choose to protest at the cost of their own lives and long sentences. That bravery and decision not to submit to the junta’s plan says everything about the spirit of resistance in Myanmar,” Thinzar Shunlei Yi, executive member of Sisters 2 Sisters, told DVB.
Nine young pro-democracy activists were sentenced to up to 37 years in prison for opposing the regime’s 2025-26 elections. Over 300 political dissidents have faced severe sentences under a new Election Protection Law, where basic online engagement can trigger lifelong imprisonment.
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News by Region
MAGWAY—Around 500 regime troops arrived in Taungson village in Myaing Township as a part of a military convoy on Monday to support the regime counteroffensive, which began in June, to retake control of the oilfield in Kyaukkwet village from the People’s Defence Force (PDF).
Pyae Phyo Kyaw, a PDF member, told DVB that resistance forces attacked regime troops with a landmine at Taungson village but reported no casualties. Myaing, located 130 miles (209 km) north of the region’s capital Magway, is contested by the PDF. Read more on our website
SAGAING—No casualties were reported after a hospital operated by the NUG in Pinlebu Township’s Mansi village was destroyed by an airstrike carried out by the Burma Air Force on Monday. Pinlebu, located 190 miles (305 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa, has been administered by the NUG since October 2024.
A Pinlebu resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that all the patients inside the hospital were evacuated before the airstrike hit the hospital. This aerial attack comes after at least three patients were killed at another NUG-run hospital in Pinlebu’s Kinpan village by airstrikes on Aug. 16.
YANGON—The Yangon Region Public Transport Committee (YRTC), which operates the Yangon Bus Service (YBS), announced on Sunday that it has cancelled a transit fare increase planned for Sept. 1. The price was set to raise from 400-600 MMK ($0.09-0.13 USD), but was reversed due to criticism from commuters.
A report released by a Yangon-based private observer group Pace Myanmar documented in July that there were 1.8 million YBS users. It claimed that 64 per cent of these users have to take two bus routes for their destinations. Over 3,300 of 5,399 registered buses from 21 operating companies are operational daily, according to YRTC.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,400 MMK)
