Eight civilians killed by airstrikes in Sagaing Region; Myanmar to restart Chinese funded mining projects

Eight civilians killed by airstrikes in Sagaing Region At least eight civilians were killed, over 20 others were injured, and five homes were destroyed by two airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in Sagaing Region’s Talaing village on Sunday, Sagaing Township residents told DVB. Sagaing is located 67 miles (107 km) east of the Sagaing Region capital Monywa. A Sagaing resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that four of those killed were under age 18 with the youngest being only five-years-old. The People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Sagaing told DVB that there was no ongoing fighting in Talaing village at the time of airstrikes. The township is contested between regime forces and various resistance forces, including the PDF under National Unity Government (NUG) command. Two civilians were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Air Force on Mandalay Region’s Madaya Township on June 27. Madaya is located 24 miles (38 km) north of Mandalay. At least 260 individuals have been killed and 530 have been injured in aerial attacks carried out by regime forces nationwide since regime leader Min Aung Hlaing was inaugurated as president on April 10, according to DVB data. Myanmar to resume China-backed mining projects Residents of Sagaing’s Tigyaing Township told DVB that regime forces have recruited workers to restart operations at the Tagaung nickel mine, which is backed financially by the Chinese state-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining and Construction. Tigyaing, located 182 miles (292 km) northeast of Monywa, was recaptured from the PDF by regime forces on March 26. A Tigyaing resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the operation might resume in early 2027. Residents of Sagaing’s Salingyi Township told DVB that over 600 regime troops have provided security at the Letpadaungtaung copper mine, which is backed by the Chinese state-owned Wanbao Mining since Jan. 25. Salingyi, located 27 miles (43 km) south of Monywa, is still contested by the PDF. Jason Tower, a senior expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, told DVB that Beijing will “push harder” to stabilize Burma to allow its projects to move forward. Thirteen out of 23 China-backed projects in northern Shan State and central Burma were seized after an offensive on Oct. 27, 2023, according to the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP-Myanmar) in a 2024 report. Aung San Suu Kyi’s son continues campaign for ‘Proof of Life’ The youngest son of Burma’s jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is calling for the country’s new pro-military administration to provide proof that she is alive, after it claimed in April that her sentence was commuted to around 17 years and that she had been moved to house arrest at an undisclosed location in the capital Naypyidaw, but provided no proof of the relocation only an undated photo of her. In an interview this week with Japanese media outlet Kyodo News in London, U.K., Aung San Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris said he believes his 81-year-old mother has not been moved to house arrest and is still being held in a prison cell, saying there hasn’t been “any evidence” of a transfer. Aris, 48, lived with both his parents until his mother left when he was around 11-years-old to care for her mother in Yangon. News by Region MAGWAY—Aid workers in Saw Township told DVB that over 10,000 residents who fled their homes due to a regime counteroffensive advancing towards southern Chin State’s Mindat Township, via Saw, since May 12 are facing shortages of food, medicine and shelter. Saw is located 130 miles (209 km) northwest of the region’s capital Magway. Saw residents told DVB that they are facing seasonal flu, diarrhea and skin-related diseases and lack access to medicine. An aid worker called for urgent humanitarian assistance. Fighting between regime and resistance forces are ongoing along the road connecting Magway’s Saw and Chin’s Mindat. SAGAING—The PDF under NUG command told DVB that at least 15 regime troops and 10 of its own members were killed during fighting in Ayardaw Township on Wednesday. Ayardaw, located 25 miles (40 km) northeast of the region’s capital Monywa, is contested between the PDF and regime forces. A PDF member told DVB on the condition of anonymity that its 10 members killed were collecting firearms from the 15 dead regime troops. The PDF launched simultaneous attacks to capture villages of pro-regime militias in Ayardaw in April but were unsuccessful due to retaliatory airstrikes. SHAN—One member of the Karenni Army and an unknown number of regime troops were killed during an attack on a column in Moebye town on Sunday. Moebye is located 100 miles (160 km) south of the state capital Taunggyi and 11 miles (17 km) north of the Karenni State capital Loikaw. The town was recaptured by regime forces on July 2, 2025. A member of the Karenni resistance told DVB that one military conscript was detained with his weapon. He added that the regime column mostly consists of military conscripts drafted since the law was enforced on Feb. 10, 2024. A regime counteroffensive was launched to retake Moebye from resistance forces earlier this year.