International Brigade Fighting Myanmar Army?

             (Lorcan Lovett’ article from ALJAZEERA MEDIA on 17 May 2024.)

Western volunteers join the battle against Myanmar’s military regime: Travelling independently to Southeast Asia, they say they were inspired by the bravery of the anti-coup fighters.

Azad, a US national, (left) and an unnamed British fighter (right) with the PDF Zoland. The two men are standing either side of a desk where another fighter is sitting with weapons on display. There is a flag behind them. The men are all masked. Azad, a US national, left, is among the foreigners who have joined the armed resistance in Myanmar.

Bangkok, Thailand – An ex-British soldier and an American fighter are among a small but growing number of foreigners training and fighting alongside anti-coup forces in the war against Myanmar’s military regime.

Lat-Htoke-Taw Village Massacre!

             (Translation of Staff article from MYANMAR NOW MEDIA on 14 May 2024.)

Myanmar Army troops burned down a large Burmese village called Lat-Htoke-Taw after slaughtering more than thirty Burmese villagers in cold blood on May-11 just this week. The village is in the Myint-Mu township of Sagaing Division in Middle Burma.

In the early morning of May-11 more than 100 heavily-armed Myanmar Soldiers raided the Burmese Village on the West bank of River Irrawaddy and then entered the Vilage Monastery Hall for they knew very well that frightened villagers had abandoned their homes and taken refuge inside there.

Fearfull for his life a 37-year-old villager named Kan-Gaung immediately crawled underneath a low-bed nearby and tried to hide from the demonic Myanmar soldiers. He then heard the door-opening and saw the legs of Myanmar soldiers, some in army-uniform trousers and others in black jeans, entering the Monastery Hall.

Myanmar Army’s Wet Season Strategy?

                     (Professor Zachary Abuza’s RFA Commentary on 08 May 2024.)

Proffessor Zachary Abuza.

Myanmar’s military on the back foot as the dry season comes to a close: Myanmar’s dry season is ending soon, with the military junta on the back foot after more than six months of reversals and losses to the opposition. This points to an intensification of attacks from the beleaguered regime.

With official forecasts that monsoon rains will start in the second week of June,  the State Administrative Council (SAC), as the junta is formally known, is likely to focus on six priorities before the rains set in, hampering the military’s already weak logistics and troop mobility.

While the military recently retook control over the key Thai border city Myawaddy, they have not retaken much of the territory lost since the Three Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 began in late October, especially outside of the Bamar heartland. With the rainy season favoring the more flexible opposition, the junta is likely to focus on six strategic priorities in the coming weeks.

Myanmar’s rebels take on the junta from above

                          (Staff article from the Guardian UK on 20 June 2024.)

‘We killed many … drones are our air force’: Myanmar’s rebels take on the junta from above:A rebel drone squadron drawn from engineering students and hobbyists, who gain battlefield training partly through YouTube tutorials, is proving decisive in the struggle against Myanmar’s brutal military government.

As the drones flew silently over western Myanmar’s Chin hills, the junta did not know what was about to hit them. Their operators were hidden a few hundred metres away in the dense forest. As the images on their screens indicated the drone fleet was hovering exactly above the target – a key military base in the town of Lailenpi – they hit the button on their controllers and bombs began to fall.

We had precise hits,” said Noah, 20, one of the specialist drone fighters in the Chin National Army (CNA), one of the ethnic rebel groups who have been fighting Myanmar’s military for almost three years. “It took them by surprise. We killed many, including the second-in-command of the base.” After three days of fighting, the rebels hoisted their tricolour flag over the base and shouted slogans of victory.

The Ice Pipeline: From Myanmar (Burma) To Australia

                        (The staff article from the ABC NEWS on 22 April 2024.)

In a suburban Melbourne kitchen, a man with his face obscured by two hoodies and sunglasses pulls out a glass pipe, crumbles in a white mixture and heats it. Smoke swirls out and he inhales sharply. “Drugs don’t really affect me anymore,” he says, exhaling. This man is no ordinary drug user. He’s a crystal meth — or “ice” — cook and dealer.

Australia is one of the most lucrative markets in the world for methamphetamines. In the year to August 2023, the country smoked, snorted and shot up about 10 and a half tonnes of the stuff — a 17 per cent increase on the year before, and more than double the amount of cocaine. It’s a highly addictive stimulant that can have devastating consequences.

For months we’ve delved deep into the drug’s murky supply chain to find out who is keeping the meth flowing into Australia, retracing the journey it takes to get to our streets from one of its sources in South-East Asia.

KIA Destroyed LID-88 after Killing the Commander

       (Based on the posts from the MYANMAR AMERICAN NEWS on April 13, 2024.)

The Magwe-based LID-88 recently deployed to the Kachin State since last year has been demolished by the overwhelming forces of KIA (Kachin Independence Arm). The Myanmar Divisional Commander was killed recently and the remnants of the LID-88 were being chased around for a while and finally KIA has released the video of the capture of one Tactical Commander, Colonel Hein Htet Aung, on April-13.

Traditionally a light infantry division of Myanmar Army has three tactical commands and each tactical command has four infantry battalions. Colonel Hein Htet Aung was the last surviving tactacl commander of LID-88 and his capture after the total defeat of his Tactical Command confirms the complete demise of notorious LID-88.

According to the KIA’s announcement, Colonel Hein Htet Aung leading his 170-strong war column was ambushed by the combined KIA/PDF forces at undisclosed location inside war-ravaged Kachin State on April-11. 109 of his war column had surrendered to the KIA/PDF attackers at the conclusion of the battle while the rest were killed except the Colonel.

Myawaddy Has Fallen into Karen Hands

             (Based on the Staff posts from the KHIT THIT MEDIA on April 7&8, 2024.)

Karen troops at captured Myawaddy Town.

The most crucial border town on the Thai-Burma border line has fallen into the hands of KNU (Karen National Union) controlled KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army) after her Burmese sister town Thin-gan-nyi-naung surrendered to the said ethnic rebels on April-5.

Thin-gan-nyi-naung Strategic Hill Camp of Myanma Army was attacked on 8 Am, April-5,  and the Myanmar troops surrendered on 1 pm same day without a serious fight at all. Altogether 617 Myanmar Army personnel including 67 officers, 410 other ranks, 59 feamle soldiers, and 81 family members had willingly laid down their weapons and surrendered.

Once Thin-gan-nyi-naung has fallen the end-of-road-town Myawaddy on the Thai Border was completely cut-off from the rest of the country and the only way out for the government staff and Myanmar Army troops trapped in the Myawaddy Town was to cross the border to the Maesot Town in Thailand.

Julie Bishop: New UN Special Envoy for Myanmar

              (Based on the Staff post from the ABC NEWS on April 6, 2024.)

UN chief appoints former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop as UN special envoy for Myanmar: Julie Bishop served as Australia's foreign minister from 2013-2018.

The post has been vacant for 10 months as the country's conflict escalated into the worst violence since the military takeover in 2021. Ms Bishop will replace Noeleen Heyzer, a former UN undersecretary-general for Singapore who left after 20 months at the end of her contract in June 2023.

In a grim assessment to the UN General Assembly before leaving, Ms Heyzer said the impact of the military takeover has been "devastating", with violence continuing "at an alarming scale". In announcing Ms Bishop's appointment, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said she "brings extensive political, legal, management and senior leadership experience to the role".

Dictator’s Imminent End? Suicide Drones Over Naypyidaw

             (Based on Staff posts from the KHIT THIT MEDIA in April 2024.)

NUG Defense Minister announcing the attack.

The universally-hated Myanmar dictator Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing was rumored to have been killed or seriousy wounded by the multiple suicide drones from the NUG forces attacking his house and offices in Naypyidaw the early morning of April-4.

Min Aung Hlaing’s house, nearby War Office, and the Aye-lar Airport of Myanmar Airforce were targeted by 28 fixed-wings suicide drones. According to the NUG Defence Minister Yi Mon’s socialmedia posts, 12 drones each went to Myanmar Army’s War Office and Aye-lar Airport while another 4 drones went to the Dictator’s house.

The explosive power of each drone, according to NUG’s social media post, is 20% stronger than an average 107-mm shock-rocket. Altogether more than 20 Myanmar officers and soldiers were killed and there were many more wounded.