July 2024

The Election Commission under the regime announced its rejection of the Arakan National
Party’s (ANP) request to continue operating as a political party. The ANP, which secured the
majority of Rakhine state constituencies in the 2015 and 2020 elections, was denied registration on the grounds of non-compliance with Section 7 of the Political Parties Registration Law which prohibits the registration of organizations deemed illegal, declared as terrorist organizations.

Thousands of villagers have been evacuated from the Myitkyina area in Kachin State due to
rising water levels in the Ayeyarwaddy River. Reports indicate a shortage of rescuers as
residents began fleeing their homes on the night of June 30, with water entering most
neighborhoods along the riverbanks. By July 1, nearly the entire town of Myitkyina was
submerged.

The ICJ announced that Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, and the Maldives have been permitted to participate in the proceedings of the case brought by the Gambia to the ICJ accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya. These seven countries have been granted the right to submit written observations addressing their concerns, with further decisions on oral testimony to be announced later. Kyodo News reported that the Japanese ambassador in Yangon met with Hiroshi Kasamatsu, a Japanese national arrested in connection with a rice pricing issue. The Japanese government has requested Kasamatsu’s immediate release, resulting in the meeting being granted. Ambassador Ichiro Maruyama confirmed that Kasamatsu is in good health and is currently being investigated at an unspecified police station.

Four dead bodies were found near the Dawei Deep Sea Port Project in Tanintharyi Region. They were taken by the regime’s soldiers as human shields on June 1. A total of eight villagers were taken, and the whereabouts of the others remain unknown. Local reports indicated that ten people, comprising both men and women, were taken hostage. The regime’s troops have been conducting an offensive in the west of Ye Pyu Township since June 30.

In northern Shan State, as fighting between the Three Brotherhood Alliance forces and the regime extends to Lashio neighborhoods, thousands of residents have evacuated, many now stranded on the Lashio-Hsipaw exit road. Over 1,000 vehicles were reported stuck on this route. According to a resident who spoke to Myanmar Now, the offensive by the Three Brotherhood Alliance intensified after they captured the regime’s Infantry Battalion 507 headquarters near Ward No. 5.

The Ministry of Defense of the NUG announced that PDF battalions from the Sagaing and Mandalay regions are actively participating in the resumption of Operation 1027 and the Shan-Mann Operation. Seven battalions from commands 52 and 55 in the Sagaing Region, Battalion 26 from Nyaung U District, and the People’s Defense Army (Mandalay) in the Mandalay Region are included in the operations. U Thein Wai, one of Myanmar’s wealthiest businessmen and real estate magnate associated with Yoma Bank and FMI, has been under interrogation by the regime in Nay Pyi Taw for several weeks. Sources indicate that the 71-year-old billionaire, along with eight directors from his companies Yoma Land and Yoma Bank, has been under investigation since early June. They were placed under house arrest, and while two directors have been allowed to return home after questioning, the rest remain detained.

Fortify Rights, a human rights group, disclosed evidence of military council forces brutally torturing detainees. The group stated that in March 2023, they received ten secretly recorded videos showing military forces torturing detainees at an interrogation center in Mandalay. The victims, including two women, reportedly endured electric shocks and other forms of torture, including threats of sexual violence, between October and November 2021. According to Fortify Rights, these videos were recorded by a member of the regime’s Air Force present during the interrogations. The soldier escaped to a liberated area with the footage. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, and Myanmar regime’s Foreign Minister U Than Swe convened for an informal meeting in New Delhi. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand issued a press release stating that the discussions centered around cooperation on mutual interests between Thailand and Myanmar.

Following an attack and occupation of Nwe Yone village by PDF joint forces in Singu Township, Mandalay Region, PDF soldier Ko Wai Moe Kyaw was able to return to his home. His house had been sealed off by the military council for over three years due to his involvement in the Spring Revolution in Singu Township, for which an arrest warrant had been issued against him.

The regime carried out an artillery attack towards villages in Tanintharyi Region. The fire, responsible for the Artillery Unit 306, fell in Ashae Maw Tone Village Tract, Kanyotan Village, killing Daw Mee Nge, aged 40. Although there is no active battle nearby, the regime’s soldiers were said to have been firing artillery in the township starting July 13.

The MDY-PDF reportedly seized Singu Town in Mandalay Region, 54 miles from Mandalay City. This marked the first time a town in Mandalay Region had fallen under PDF control. Since then, the regime has attempted to recapture it using navy ships. Recently, military supporters and lobbyists spread fabricated news that the junta had recaptured the town.

The Chinland government demanded that the Arakan Army (AA) immediately stop interfering in Chin State’s affairs and the political matters of the Chin people. Amid ongoing conflict between the Chin State government and the regime, the AA entered Chin State territory, leading to unnecessary ethnic clashes due to political meddling. They urged the AA to respect the efforts of the Chin people to achieve national equality and self-determination.

While intense fighting continues in northern Shan State, two Shan ethnic armed groups are also clashing in the southern part of the state. Despite a joint ceasefire statement issued in November 2023, sporadic fighting has occurred between the SSPP/SSA and the RCSS/SSA since mid-year. On the night of July 21, RCSS and SSPP forces clashed in Rassak Township, resulting in the deaths of five SSPP soldiers, as reported by the RCSS.

Some of the detainees held and interrogated in the regime’s detention facilities were released after the capture of Infantry Battalion 41 by the MNDAA in Lashio, Shan State. Among them were three men and one woman, all in their 20s, detained since November 2022. They were all arrested for the possession of weapons, and their families are relieved that they made it out of the junta’s notorious interrogation routine. More political detainees were released, but they have not been identified yet.

Videos of TNLA and PDF soldiers being welcomed by civilians in Mogok emerged on social media. This series of videos confirms that Mogok is now under the control of TNLA, despite the State Administration Council and pro-military supporter channel’s denial that revolutionary forces have taken control of the area.

The junta’s battalion units 116 and 119, based in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay City, were targeted with rockets. According to local sources, a total of eight free flight rockets were fired towards the compounds. Multiple explosions were heard, followed by ambulance sirens. The exact measure of casualties is unknown.

Dr. Daw Mie Mie Winn Byrd, a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Defense Forces and a professor at the Asia-Pacific Security Studies Department of the United States Department of Defense, stated that significant victories will continue to be achieved due to the coordinated attacks by ethnic groups and revolutionary forces against the State Administration Council.