Three homes and a church burned down in Kachin State

Residents of Hpakant Township in Kachin State told DVB that three homes and a church in the town’s Mashikahtaung neighborhood were burned down by regime forces on Sunday. Hpakant is located 94-158 miles (151-254 km) west and northwest of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) headquarters of Laiza. 

A Hpakant resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that regime forces began by burning down the home of the National League for Democracy (NLD) ward administrator in Mashikahtaung, who was ousted in the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Fighting between regime forces, with support from its allied Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA), and the KIA-led resistance forces restarted in Hpakant on March 2. 

Residents claimed that one woman was killed and three other civilians, including a child, were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on a home in Hpakant’s Tamakhan village on March 7. An unknown number of Mashikahtaung residents were forced to flee their homes when the regime forces began an arson attack in their Hpakant neighborhood on March 5. 

Philippines calls for humanitarian aid to Myanmar

The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs has called for urgent humanitarian assistance to Burma as its armed resistance against the 2021 military coup entered its fifth year in 2026. Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who is also the Special Envoy of the 2026 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chair on Burma, briefed the U.N. Security Council in New York on Friday. 

She shared on social media that ASEAN is working to advance its peace plan, known as the Five-Point Consensus, and stressed the urgency of delivering humanitarian aid to the people in Burma. Regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing signed the ASEAN Five Point Consensus in April 2021 but didn’t implement it upon his return to Burma. It calls for an end to violence and dialogue among stakeholders.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on March 6 that access to humanitarian assistance in Burma has been “increasingly blocked” due to conflict nationwide, particularly in Chin State, Arakan State, and Sagaing Region. The U.N. estimates that over 3.7 million people have been displaced from their homes due to conflict. Over 4.2 million people are listed as “total population of concern” in Burma. Read more

Residents of Myawaddy Township, Karen State, inspect buildings destroyed by drone strikes on Dec. 27. (Credit: CJ)

Are Iranian drones being used by the military?

The regime in Naypyidaw appears to have access to Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munition drones, according to the Armed Conflict and Location Data (ACLED) Project. But as of July—when ACLED conducted field research in Burma—sources on the frontline told them that the military had not deployed Iranian Shahed drones operationally against resistance forces.

“I have not seen evidence confirming their use in the conflict. Weapons recovered by resistance groups, as well as drones that have crashed at attack sites, suggest the military is primarily using locally redesigned one-way attack drones with lower payload and range than Shahed systems,” Su Mon Thant, ACLED Senior Analyst for the Asia-Pacific, told DVB by email.

At least 4,700 fatalities have been caused by over 6,300 air and drone strikes in Burma from Feb. 1, 2021 up to Jan. 23, according to ACLED. One-way attack drones appear to be the most commonly used in Burma, along with delta-wing and fixed-wing designs. These drones resemble Russia’s Geran-2 loitering munition, which is widely believed to be derived from Iranian Shahed designs.

Read our latest DVB English New op-ed by Jaivet Ealom: Why the ICJ case matters in the fight against military rule in Myanmar

News by Region

ARAKAN—A 12-year-old was killed and two other teenagers were injured by unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Gwa Township’s Khwaychaing village on Sunday. The two injured were taken to hospital. Gwa, located 504 miles (811 km) south of the state capital Sittwe, was seized by the Arakan Army (AA) in 2024.

A Gwa resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the three teens were playing with a UXO when it detonated. Residents told DVB that they have faced threats from UXO and landmines since Nov. 13, 2023 when the AA launched its offensive against regime forces in Arakan.

BAGO—The Karen National Union (KNU) on Monday accused regime forces of killing 30 civilians and detaining 160 others in Yei Twin Gone village tract of Nyaunglebin Township on March 5. Nyaunglebin is located 50 miles (80 km) north of the region’s capital Bago.

A source close to the KNU told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the 160 Yei Twin Gone village residents are being held at the local school. Yei Twin Gone village has been under the control of Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)-led resistance forces since 2023.

TANINTHARYI—The People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Myeik District told DVB that resistance forces have killed “dozens” of regime troops during fighting in Launglon, Thayetchaung, Yebyu, Tanintharyi and Palaw, located 12-98 miles (19-157 km) south of the region’s capital Dawei, since February.

The PDF member did not disclose the number of resistance members killed. But he told DVB on the condition of anonymity that retaliatory airstrikes against its positions has allowed regime forces to advance into all five towns. He added that over 1,000 regime troops were involved in the attack. Read more

(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 3,995 MMK)