Myanmar rejects UN investigation into airstrikes and atrocities; Min Aung Hlaing to visit Cambodia

Myanmar rejects UN investigation into airstrikes and atrocities The regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the U.N. Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) on Wednesday after its lead investigator Nicholas Koumjian addressed the 63rd Session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 7-9. The regime called it “one-sided allegations against the Myanmar military from opposition groups,” It added that Burma has never recognized the IIMM since its inception in 2018. It accused the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of establishing the IIMM without Naypyidaw’s consent to “exert political pressure on a sovereign state.” The IIMM was given the mandate to collect and preserve evidence of serious international crimes committed in Myanmar since 2011. The IIIM 2026 Annual Report, published on Aug. 11, alleges that the military escalated aerial attacks on civilians ahead of its 2025-26 elections from Dec. 28, 2025 to Jan. 25. The regime claimed that airstrikes were conducted solely against “military targets” in response to seizures of towns and villages by “terrorist groups,” which is how it refers to resistance forces. Min Aung Hlaing to visit Cambodia Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing will make an official visit to Cambodia Sept. 11-12, which will mark his fourth trip to an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member state in three months. Sources in Phnom Penh confirmed the dates following his Sept. 4–6 trip to Vietnam, bringing his total trips to eight since being inaugurated president by a military-controlled parliament on April 10. The Cambodia trip forms part of a deliberate strategy by Naypyidaw to bypass official ASEAN summit bans through targeted bilateral engagements. Phnom Penh previously signaled its intent to deepen ties, with Senate President spokesperson Chea Thyrith stating in August that bilateral cooperation between the two countries is “necessary and mutually beneficial” to strengthen historic relations. The regime’s diplomatic push has generated sharp divisions between governments, human rights organizations, and international analysts. Senior regime officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, remain barred from high-level ASEAN summits and meetings due to the regime’s failure to halt violence or implement the Five-Point Consensus, which is the regional bloc’s peace plan for Burma, adopted in April 2021. What AAPP co-founder Bo Kyi learned inside a Myanmar prison Prominent human rights activist Bo Kyi, 61, learned about the history and abysmal situation inside the country’s prison system after he was arrested in 1990 for joining pro-democracy street demonstrations. In his seven years as a political prisoner, Bo Kyi discovered about the torture being inflicted by the military, particularly on ethnic groups. “All newspapers and television are censored in the government-owned communication system, so therefore we were growing up with propaganda. But prison teaches us a lot of what is happening in Burma,” Bo Kyi said at a press briefing on Sept. 2 after being named one of the three winners of the 2026 Ramon Magsaysay Award. “We need to build up [the] rule of law. We want [the] military to stay away from politics. Such kind of thing really motivated me for this,” added Bo Kyi, the cofounder and joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a human rights organization advocating for the release of remaining political prisoners in Burma. News by Region KARENNI—At least five civilians, including a child, were killed and 17 were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in the state capital Loikaw and Shadaw townships Sept. 4-6, following the seizure of a regime outpost near Loikaw’s Loihtwel village on Sept. 3. Shadaw was seized by resistance forces in 2024. Banyar Aung, the Secretary 2 of the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC), told DVB that regime forces continue to target civilians. A source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that at least 10 regime troops were killed during fighting with resistance forces over control of the outpost on Sept. 3. SAGAING—At least five people, including a 15-year-old boy and 55-year-old woman, drowned in flood-related incidents Sept. 2-8 in Kale Township. “The currents were extremely strong. The victims were swept away by the water,” a Kale resident told DVB, adding that the flood water had already receded by Wednesday. All five victims were swept away by flood water or fell into streams and creeks. Their bodies were later recovered. More than 1,000 Kale residents have sought shelter in temporary flood relief camps. Kale is located 144 miles (231 km) northwest of the region’s capital Monywa. SHAN—At least 15 casualties were reported after an explosion at an explosives storage facility operated by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Hsenwi Township’s Man Mai village on Tuesday. Two Chinese nationals, five workers, and eight MNDAA members, are among the casualties. “It was a very loud explosion. It occurred inside the MNDAA compound,” a Hsenwi resident told DVB. Hsenwi is located 31 miles (49 km) north of the regional capital Lashio and 274 miles (440 km) north of the state capital Taunggyi. Hswenwi was seized by the MNDAA on Jan. 7 2024.