Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow stated that Thailand hopes to reconnect Myanmar with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); since the 2021 military coup, ASEAN has excluded Myanmar’s top junta leaders from its main summit (Reuters)
Myanmar to Expel East Timor Envoy
The foreign ministry announced it ordered the head of East Timor’s diplomatic mission to leave the country within a week; the expulsion comes as Myanmar’s Chin State Human Rights Organization filed a complaint against the military junta with East Timor’s justice department, a move the junta deemed as “unacceptable” due to East Timor’s engagement with an “unlawful organization” (Reuters)
Leader of Ethnic Army Calls for Global Attention Towards Airstrikes on Civilians
General Yawd Serk, chair of the Restoration Council of Shan State, stated that world leaders were ignoring the military junta’s increase in airstrikes on civilians; Yawd Serk further stated that only China was intervening (Reuters)
Junta-Backed Party Wins Disputed Election
Myanmar’s military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), won the election according to final official figures; observers widely expected a USDP win, as the election excluded major opposition parties and limited dissent (AP)
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing signed a law that could allow him to run a new governing council (Reuters)
Reuters Finds Iran Fuel Deliveries Power Myanmar Junta’s Air War
A Reuters investigation reports that illicit Iranian deliveries of jet fuel and urea have enabled Myanmar’s military to intensify its air campaign, striking more than a thousand civilian locations over fifteen months and shifting the balance of the five-year civil war against rebel groups that lack air power; from October 2024 to December 2025, Iran shipped about 175,000 tons of jet fuel and large quantities of urea to the junta in shipments that bypassed Western sanctions (Reuters)
Airstrike Kills Twenty-One in Village Sheltering Displaced People
A military airstrike hit Hteelin village in Kachin State, killing at least twenty-one people and wounding twenty-eight others in an area sheltering displaced residents near Bhamo (AP)
Military-Backed Party Leads After Second Round of Voting
Myanmar’s military-backed party widened its lead after the second round of voting, putting it on track for a parliamentary majority ahead of the final phase of the disputed three-stage election (AP)
Second Round of Voting Beings
Myanmar began a second round of voting in its general election, with ballot access expanding to additional townships (AP)
Election Body Says Military-Backed Party Wins Most Seats
Myanmar’s military-appointed election body began releasing results from the first phase of the election, announcing that the military-backed party won a majority of seats (AP)
Myanmar Begins First Election Phase
Voters participated in the first phase of Myanmar’s general election; Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who has ruled Myanmar since the 2021 coup, is expected to win, as critics say the election only adds a false sense of legitimacy to the status quo (AP)
Junta Charges Over Two Hundred People Ahead of Election
Myanmar’s military government charged over two hundred people with violating voting laws ahead of the December 28 general election, which authorities will hold in three phases amid ongoing conflict; the vote is being conducted under an election law that imposes severe penalties for opposing or disrupting the polls (AP)
Military Claims Hospital Used as Base by Opposition Groups
The Myanmar military acknowledged its airstrike on a hospital in western Rakhine, but claimed groups including the ethnic Arakan Army, the People’s Defense Forces, and the Bamar People’s Liberation Army used the hospital as a base (AP)
Myanmar Airstrike Kills Thirty-Four Civilians
The overnight airstrike by the military junta hit a hospital in Mrauk-U township, a territory controlled by the Arakan Army, killing patients and medical staff and injuring dozens of others; the airstrikes come amid intensified junta air operations ahead of elections later this month (AP)
Opposition Boycotts Myanmar Election
Pro-democracy groups urged people to remain indoors in a nationwide “silent strike” to protest the December 28 elections, which critics say are designed to legitimize army rule; authorities responded by pursuing charges against ten activists involved in rare street demonstrations in Mandalay, with penalties of up to ten years in prison (AP)
Junta Airstrike on Tea Shop Kills Eighteen Civilians
A military jet bombed the tea shop in Sagaing’s Tabayin township as residents gathered to watch a football match, in one of several recent pre-election airstrikes targeting resistance strongholds (AP)
Fighting in Myanmar Reaches Thailand
Clashes between the junta and Karen National Union fighters near the border damaged several homes in Thailand’s Mae Sot district, prompting Bangkok to close a major border crossing for a week (Irrawaddy)
Myanmar Resistance Group Detains Election Candidate
The detention, executed by the People’s Defense Force, occurred in the Magway Region and marked the first known abduction of a candidate in the cycle for this month’s election; the ruling junta has vowed to prosecute the abductors, though concerns surrounding the military’s own political repression remain (AP)
Mass Amnesty in Myanmar
Myanmar’s ruling generals authorized the release of several thousand people detained for political activity and dropped charges against thousands more as the country prepares for elections scheduled for late December; the move excluded ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other former senior civilian officials, as rights groups continue to condemn the elections as a junta power grab (AP)
TPS Cut for Myanmar
The Trump administration announced it will end temporary protected status for migrants from Myanmar in late January; the protection had been granted in 2021 due to unsafe conditions in the country and extended multiple times, but U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that conditions in the country had “improved enough” (DHS)
Myanmar remains torn by civil war; some four thousand people are expected to lose protection from deportation (CBS)
Junta Crackdown on Border Scam Compounds
Sources say junta leader Min Aung Hlaing instructed officers to dismantle scam center operations ahead of December’s election, amid growing concern over potential U.S. action and pressure from Beijing; state media reported that security forces and allied Karen National Army units have demolished more than 180 buildings, detained over 1,000 foreign nationals, and seized thousands of devices (Reuters)
Fighting Escalates in Rakhine State
Clashes around Kyaukphyu have widened sharply following junta attempts to retake key positions ahead of the December elections; heavy junta airstrikes have caused the displacement of tens of thousands and several civilian casualties, though the rebel Arakan Army has regained territory (Irrawaddy)
Rebel Ambush Kills Thirty Junta Troops
Local sources said the Arakan Army killed the troops near Minpyin village in Kyaukphyu after regime forces advanced into the key township; fighting in the area has surged following the junta’s seizure of the Thaing Chaung Taung base on November 10, displacing large numbers of civilians and restricting the movement of goods and aid (Irrawaddy)
Resistance Forces Kill Dozens of Junta Fighters
Resistance groups captured another fifteen fighters, following a major ambush on a military column moving between Kantbalu and Khin-U; the junta responded with bombing runs and airstrikes, forcing thousands of civilians to flee nearby villages as fighting spread across the border area (Irrawaddy)
Sino-Russo Support for Myanmar
The junta received Russian helicopters and Chinese transport planes, underscoring continued weapons transfers from both countries despite Western arms sanctions; regional analysts said the expanded air assets will bolster upcoming operations as the military seeks to retake territory ahead of December’s planned elections (AP)
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk again denounced these elections, citing the junta’s political repression and the ongoing military conflict (AFP)
Separately, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, along with businesses linked to the group, accusing them of fueling the ongoing civil war and stealing billions of dollars via online scams (U.S. Treasury)
Junta Election Crackdown
Myanmar’s military detained seven more people under its recent election law as it represses dissent ahead of the December elections; charges have been filed for alleged attacks on campaign billboards, confrontations with poll workers, and message sharing with resistance groups (Irrawaddy)