ICRC meets with Aung San Suu Kyi; Chinese firms helping the Myanmar military build a jet-fuel refinery

ICRC meets with Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw Burma’s jailed State Counsellor Aung ​San Suu Kyi ‌met with Arnaud de Baecque, the Resident Representative and Head of Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the capital Naypyidaw on Monday, regime spokesperson Khaing Khaing Soe shared on the social media app Telegram with photos but without disclosing the exact location of the meeting on Aug. 3. The ​news comes amid mounting concerns over the deteriorating health conditions of the ​81-year-old ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) leader and Nobel Peace ​Prize laureate, who has been held ‌in ⁠detention and isolation since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, which replaced her civilian-led NLD administration with a regime led by Min Aung Hlaing, who was inaugurated Burma’s president on April 10. Read the response from Kim Aris, the ICRC, and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Chinese firms are helping the military build a jet-fuel refinery The military is moving to produce Jet A-1 aviation fuel domestically, with Chinese companies supplying the design, equipment and infrastructure for the project, a DVB investigation has found. A review of publicly available company records, corporate websites and vessel-tracking data shows that the Thanlyin refinery in Yangon is being revived to reduce the military’s reliance on imported jet fuel. This dependence has made it vulnerable to international sanctions, foreign-currency shortages and swings in the global fuel market. As fighting has intensified across Burma, aviation fuel has become one of the military’s most important strategic resources. The Burma Air Force provides support to military personnel and transports equipment, and strikes ground targets, including in civilian-populated areas. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun urges UN support for SCEF Burma’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, wrote to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday, requesting support for the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF)—Myanmar’s premier resistance alliance. “The SCEF is committed to protecting and promoting the essence of federal democracy and self-determination,” Kyaw Moe Tun stated in a letter on July 31. He added that the SCEF is “rooted in the people, supported by the people and accountable for the people.” News by Region ARAKAN—The Arakan Army (AA) stated on Monday that airstrikes were carried out by the Burma Air Force for several hours on multiple locations in Thandwe Township’s Ngapali town on Monday. Thandwe, located 150 miles (240 km) south of the state capital Sittwe, was seized by the AA in July 2024. AYEYARWADY—Four civilians were injured by an airstrike carried out by the Burma Air Force on Lemyethna Township’s Set Set Yo village on Sunday, compounding a humanitarian emergency triggered by catastrophic regional flooding. Over 14,000 residents were reeling from rising floodwaters. CHIN—Members of the Chin resistance dismissed regime leader Min Aung Hlaing after he referenced the Chin National Organization and its armed wing, the Chin National Defence Force, as a “dialogue partner” in peace talks during his speech to Myanmar’s parliament on Friday. Watch our interview with Benedict Rogers on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts. The post ICRC meets with Aung San Suu Kyi; Chinese firms helping the Myanmar military build a jet-fuel refinery appeared first on DVB.