Myanmar junta troops raided an All Burma Federation of Student Unions office in Budalin Township, Sagaing Region, before dawn on Friday and killed three members, the group said.

Junta troops killed Ko Kyaw Win Thant, 18, the president of Budalin Township Students Union, Ko Kyal Sin Nyein Chan, 19, the vice president, and spokesman Ko Thuta Nay, 19.

By resisting the dictatorship, they sacrificed their lives, fell nobly and will always be remembered, said the group.

Around 50 troops from Budalin town raided the Nyaung Kan village office in an unprovoked attack, the group said.

The troops surrounded the office and ambushed so our members had no time to escape, the group said.

The troops also seized some residents from Nyaung Kan and nearby villages and their whereabouts are unknown.

The group posted pictures on social media of student activists protesting against the junta with banners and flags in Budalin Township.

The three Budalin Township Students Union members were reportedly been stabbed to death and had their tongues cut out.

The troops burned down the groups office, a village school and houses in nearby villages, according to the group.

Since the 2021 coup, students unions, alumni groups and independent university organizations have been opposing the dictatorship and student groups have been targeted by the junta as a result.

In December, a closed junta court sentenced seven inmates, all under 25, to death, for alleged involvement in an April shooting of a former military officer. More than 130 mostly young people have been put on death row since the 2021 coup.

Shortly after the 2021 coup, U Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmars ambassador to the United Nations, gave a statement of defiance against military rule and stood up for the ousted civilian government.

He flashed a three-finger salute in solidarity with anti-regime protesters before the UN General Assembly in New York in late February 2021 and called on the 193 member states to use any means to reverse the military takeover.

The junta responded by trying to oust him and charging him with high treason but he refused to leave his position and continued to be recognized at the United Nations. For his vocal opposition to the juntas rule, he was the target of an assassination plot in 2021.

He currently represents the civilian National Unity Government and keeps calling on the UN and international community to stop junta atrocities.

The Irrawaddy recently asked him about the progress over Myanmar at the UN, international weaknesses and failures in addressing the crisis and possible action to stop the juntas terror campaign.

Could you tell us about how Myanmars issue has been going at the UN and what progress has been made?

A United Nations Security Council resolution...

A Myanmar junta captain and lieutenant were killed when their fighter jet was shot down by resistance forces above Bawlakhe Township in Kayah State last month, the Karenni Nationalities Peoples Liberation Front (KNPLF) announced.

On June 30, the KNPLF and other resistance forces shot down the aircraft while it was flying low to attack the groups camp. It crashed near Ywar Thit town.

The group was unable to identify the aircraft at that time as the crash zone was in junta territory and troops quickly removed the wreckage.

The KNPLF said on Thursday that it had confirmed the aircraft was a K-8 W, an upgraded fighter jet from Taungoo Air Force Base flown by Captain Thaw Zin and Lieutenant Aung Phyo Kyaw.

We do not have any anti-aircraft weapons but our forces fought bravely with all their weapons, forcing the crash. Their brave and adventurous spirit is deeply honored and recorded, the KNPLF said. The group thanked those who helped reveal the information.

KNPLF spokesman Lawrence Soe told The Irrawaddy: We only aim to repeat this feat, working with other resistance forces.

The two pilots were given posthumous honorary titles for bravery by the junta and promoted to major and captain, according to a regime announcement on July 23.

Former army captain Lin Htet Aung, who defected after the 2021 coup, said gallantry awards were often given to disguise mistakes as bravery.

The KNPLF, which formerly served as the Border Guard Force in Kayah State under the command of Myanmars military for nearly 30 years, turned on junta troops during June 13s attacks on regime outposts and police stations in Maese town.

On Saturday, the group officially announced it had joined the revolution to topple the regime and added that it is ready to work with the civilian National Unity Government to carry out revolutionary tasks.

Invalids drafted for new campaign

Regime soldiers badly wounded while fighting the resistance have been handed vacations after being discharged from military hospitals. Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has twice sponsored beach holidays for them, at the Chaungtha and Ngapali resorts, last month and on July 24.

As part of regime propaganda that the military is taking good care of its soldiers, freshly discharged amputees and soldiers on crutches were sent to Chaungtha Beach in Ayeyarwady Region and Ngapali Beach in Rakhine State. Junta media did not specify how many invalided troops were rewarded with seaside holidays, but photos in their reports suggest that at least 50 soldiers were on each trip.

Though the trips were described as rest and recuperation, the veterans literally had no time to rest. Their hectic schedule during the five-day vacation featured exercise on the beach, paying homage to pagodas near the beach, and playing football, cane ball, and volleyball all to serve the purpose of spreading propaganda for the regime.

Boasting while economy burns

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The price of pharmaceuticals has risen and stocks are low ahead of the release of new 20,000 kyats banknotes by Myanmars junta this month.

After the note announcement, the US dollar rate hit nearly 3,500 kyats, which affected the drugs market as Myanmar imports around 85 percent of its medicines.

Drugs for high-blood pressure, coronary heart disease, antibiotics for lung problems and diabetes have increased by 10 to 40 percent this week after steady rises for a year with some companies currently halting sales, according to Yangon pharmacists.

The prices of contraceptive medicines like OK and Marvelon 28 had risen 15 to 76 percent by Tuesday.

All prescription medicine prices have increased. We have to sell at 10 percent higher than the original price but some pharmacies sell at higher prices, a North Okkalapa Township pharmacist told The Irrawaddy.

Another pharmacist said the weak kyat affected some distributors, with some companies storing medicines knowing prices would rise ahead of the banknote release.

Patients are forced to buy alternative, worse medicines at a higher price, a distributor told The Irrawaddy.

Patients who were buying the Portuguese medicine Cinnarizine, for instance, are now looking for alternatives from Thailand, which might be lower quality.

A Yangon resident said she is struggling to find liver cancer medicines for her brother.

The pharmacy could not help me and a private hospital refused to sell them to me and told me to go back to my brothers hospital. I was really angry. Why do they want to be so difficult? she told The Irrawaddy.

She bought a reduced quantity of medicines at a private hospital at an inflated price.

The new 20,000 kyats banknotes have sparked fears of inflation and led to hoarding among consumers who can afford to buy in large quantities, boosting inflationary pressures.

A North Dagon Township resident told The Irrawaddy: I normally buy blood pressure and diabetes medicines for my father for a month but now I get them only for a week.

Ukrainian military analysts say mortar rounds from Myanmar are being used by Russias military in Ukraine.

Ukrainian military affairs website Militarnyi, also known as the Ukrainian Military Center, reported on Wednesday that 120mm mortar rounds manufactured by Myanmars military are being used in Ukraine.

Militarnyi said Ukraine Weapons Tracker analysts had confirmed the reports.

Most markings were erased but the shape of the fins, residual markings and fuses identified the shells, said Militarnyi, which monitors Russias invasion.

War Noir, an independent weapons researcher, tweeted on Wednesday: Several photos posted by the combatants of Russian forces display that the RuAF (Russia Aerospace Forces) started to operate 12ER mortar bombs originally produced by Myanmar. These are apparently supplied by the junta in Myanmar recently.

Customs data was used by Nikkei Asia last month to report that Russia is buying back weapons previously shipped to Myanmar and India.

It said Russia may be reimporting weapons to meet a shortfall on the frontline with the help of long-lasting allies.

Junta sources said the mortar rounds are from Myanmar militarys Directorate of Defence Industries, also known as Ka Pa Sa.

They are Myanmar-made. They are manufactured at Ka Pa SAs factory along with 60mm and 105mm rounds, said a warrant officer in Myanmars weapons sector.

But the Ukrainian photos do not match the standard motor rounds produced at the factory in Padaung Township, Bago Region.

The factory source said the ammunition might be produced specifically for Russia or be an updated design.

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Family members and residents fear for the lives of four Christian religious leaders who have gone missing after being detained by junta forces in Mindat Township, Chin State, the Mindat Peoples Administration said on Thursday.

On July 16, drunken junta troops from Infantry Battalion 274 based in Mindat abducted a pastor and three church elders from a church in a residential ward of Mindat town.

The junta had allowed the church to be used as a shelter for displaced people fleeing clashes between regime forces and the Chin resistance.

The township peoples administration said junta troops arrested the four church members on the pretext that too many motorbikes were found at the displacement shelter.

When first contacted about the situation of the detainees, military forces told church officials and family members that they were still interrogating the four Christian leaders.

But after a second inquiry on Wednesday, the military base said it did not know about the detainees.

The administration group said all four detainees are now believed to have been killed by junta troops during interrogation.

A Mindat Peoples Administration official told Chin media outlet Khonumthung that residents living near the military base heard sounds of the detainees being tortured.

However, the military denied any knowledge of the detainees when asked to return the bodies of the Christian leaders, the official said.

The peoples administration condemned the military regime for arresting and killing religious leaders.

On April 10, a Christian pastor was among nine Chin residents killed in Chins Falam Township when junta aircraft bombed civilian targets in Waybula town, according to the Chin National Front, which has formed the Chin National Army (CNA) to confront the junta.

Two Chin pastors were also detained and tortured to death by junta forces in Chins Kanpetlet Township and nearby Saw Township in Magwe Region in early December 2021.

In September 2021, junta forces shot dead a pastor and cut off his finger to steal his wedding ring during a clash with resistance fighters in Thantlang town, Chin State.

With the juntas six-month state of emergency expiring on Monday, Myanmar people and observers have one question on their minds: whats next?

One possibility is that the regime will again violate the Constitution to extend the emergency for another six months from July 31. The junta has so far extended it three times, most recently in February. The Constitution permits only two six-month extensions.

An alternative option would be for the junta to form an interim government with retired generals to maintain its rule under the guise of a civilian administration.

Speculation about Myanmars post-July 31 political landscape is being fueled by the juntas recent political moves, as it struggles to quell a two-year-old nationwide popular armed resistance.

On July 9, the regime allowed Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai to meet the imprisoned Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, making him the first foreign visitor to gain access to her since the coup in February 2021.

Two weeks on, it reportedly transferred the civilian leader from prison to house arrest this week. She then reportedly met with Ti Khun Myat, the Lower House Speaker under her National League for Democracy (NLD) government prior to the 2021 putsch. She is also likely to meet Deng Xijuan, Chinas special envoy for Asian Affairs, who is visiting the country.

The regimes spokesperson told Voice of America Burmese on Friday that he had no idea about these developments from Daw Aung San Suu Kyis house arrest to the meetings.

This coming Tuesday, the junta is likely to announce an amnesty for political prisoners to mark the consecration of its new giant sitting Buddha statue. Some sources said the amnesty announcement would incorporate Daw Aung San Suu Kyis house arrest along with the transfer of other NLD government leaders like President U Win Myint and Mandalay Chief Minister Dr Zaw Myint Maung from prison to home confinement.

Yet for all these developments and more in the pipeline, analysts expect no meaningful changes in Myanmar after July 31.

They point out that the transfer of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from prison to house arrest is another tactic used by the junta to ease international pressure against its rule. The previous military regime that ran Myanmar from 1988 until early 2011 also allowed visiting foreign envoys to see her whenever it faced mounting international pressure.

Some observers say the extension of emergency rule remains a strong possibility, given junta boss Min Aung Hlaing recently hinted to his Cabinet that much remains to be done to restore stability and rule of law across the union.

However, analysts do not dismiss the possibility of an interim government being formed with ex-generals. But they said the chances were thin given Min...

Myanmar junta cronies gathered around regime leader Min Aung Hlaing on Sunday and donated cash for the colossal Maravijaya Buddha statue in Naypyitaw.

The statue is due to be consecrated on August 1 and the list of those attending events has been used to chart who is showing solidarity with Min Aung Hlaing.

He first officially invited his business allies to the site on June 29 with a second event on Sunday.

Present on Sunday were former actress Nandar Hlaing, daughter-in-law of Zaykabar Co owner Khin Shwe, assistant to ex-dictator Than Shwe Dr Tha Yin Myint, U Yang Ho, Shwe Than Lwin Co owner Kyaw Win and business owners with ties to military-owned conglomerates Myanmar Economic Corporation and Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd.

Min Aung Hlaing thanked former dictator Than Shwe for donating the giant marble block to Myanmars military in 2017.

At the first donation in late June, 101 business owners contributed over 16 billion kyats (about US$4.8 million). Present were CB Bank founder U Khin Maung Aye, Max Myanmar Group of Companies chairman U Zaw Zaw, Tun Myint Naing of Asia World, U Zaw Win Shein of Ayeyar Hinthar Holdings, Yuzana Co founder U Htay Myint, Dagon Company founder U Win Aung and Shwe Thanlwin Co owner U Kyaw Win.

On Sunday, Min Aung Hlaing received 17.4 billion kyats from 377 individuals. A notable donor was former spy chief Khin Nyunt.

The ex-general reportedly has Alzheimers disease and did not attend Sundays event.

Min Aung Hlaing visited Khin Nyunt at his Yangon house in late 2021 and reportedly offered treatment at military hospitals and had Khin Nyunts pension restored.

Khin Nyunt, who was notorious for masterminding deadly interrogations and prosecutions of political dissidents, was purged in 2004 by former dictator Than Shwe. He was given a 44-year prison sentence which was later commuted to house arrest. He was freed in a 2011 amnesty by Thein Seins quasi-civilian government.

Shwe Hmaw Wun, a charity founded by Khin Nyunt, donated 300 million kyats to the construction in the name of Khin Nyunt and his wife.

Khin Nyunt founded the charity after his release with 7.5 million kyats of his own money and 2.5 million kyats from prominent Buddhist monk Sitagu Sayadaw, who funded Khin Nyunt after his prison release.

On July 16, Min Aung Hlaing gathered ex-generals in Maravijaya Park, including acting president Myint Swe, former president Thein Sein, former Union Election Commission chair Tin Aye and Union Solidarity and Development Party chair Khin Yi.

US-sanctioned Pyae Phyo Tay Za, son...

At least 15 Myanmar junta troops were killed in the last three days as resistance groups and ethnically Karen armed organizations continued to attack regime targets.

The incidents were reported in Sagaing and Magwe regions and Karen State.

The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks on junta forces.

The junta casualties could not be independently verified.

Junta troops targeted with drones and mines

Many regime soldiers are believed to have been killed and injured in Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region, on Thursday when resistance groups conducted drone strikes and landmine ambushes on a junta unit, according to the Black Eagle Defense Force in Myinmu that joined the attacks.

Groups used a drone to drop two bombs on around 50 troops on Thursday while they moved through the township. Four soldiers were killed and others injured in the drone strikes, the groups said.

The groups then used two landmines to ambush a junta vehicle between two villages while it was supposedly transporting injured soldiers to Myinmu town. More soldiers are believed to have been killed, the groups said.

Repeated junta bombing in Sagaing

Salingyi Special Task Force said it and three other resistance groups used fixed-wing drones to bomb a junta unit at Kyar Tat village police station on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The junta casualties were unknown.

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YANGONMyanmar civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in a 2021 military coup, has been moved from prison to a government building, an official from her party said Friday.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to a high-level venue compound on Monday night, an official from the National League for Democracy told AFP Friday on condition of anonymity.

The ousted civilian leader has been seen only once since she was held after the February 1, 2021 putsch in grainy state media photos from a bare courtroom in the military-built capital Naypyidaw.

The coup plunged the Southeast Asian nation into a conflict that has displaced more than one million people, according to the United Nations.

The party official also confirmed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had met the countrys lower house speaker Ti Khun Myat and was likely to meet Deng Xijuan, Chinas special envoy for Asian Affairs, who is visiting the country.

A source from another political party said she had been moved to a VIP compound in Naypyidaw.

There have been concerns about the health of the Nobel laureate, 78, since her detention, including during her sprawling trial in a junta court that required her to attend hearings almost daily.

She has been sentenced to 33 years in jail for a clutch of charges, including corruption, possession of illegal walkie talkies and flouting coronavirus restrictions.

Rights groups slammed her trial as a sham and a tool designed to remove the popular leader from politics.