Hello everyone. We will now present today’s domestic news from m.CDM.
Today’s main stories include reports that the NDAA arrested the Mandalay Region People’s Defense Organization official and handed him over to the military; military airstrikes near Thandwe that killed three people, including a pregnant woman, and injured 21 others; the military’s return to using upgraded MiG-29 fighter jets with Russian assistance; the opening of a KIO court in Namhpakka; and the arrest of three suspects in connection with the rape and murder of a woman in Ponnagyun.
1. NDAA reportedly arrests Mandalay Region defense official and transfers him to the military
Reports say the National Democratic Alliance Army, or NDAA, also known as the Mongla group, arrested Ko Wanna Aung, an official of the Mandalay Region People’s Defense Organization under the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defense, and handed him over to the military council.
According to people close to him, Ko Wanna Aung was arrested in NDAA-controlled territory on the night of July 23. His wife was reportedly arrested earlier at a military checkpoint in Kengtung Township, enabling the authorities to trace his location.
The military allegedly asked the NDAA to arrest him because he was staying in its territory. NDAA personnel then took him from the place where he was staying.
Both Ko Wanna Aung and his wife remain out of contact, and their condition is unknown. NUG spokesperson U Nay Phone Latt told some media outlets that the Ministry of Defense had not yet been able to confirm the report.
The NDAA controls Special Region 4 in eastern Shan State and maintains a ceasefire agreement with the military.
2. Police station and military checkpoint near Naypyidaw reportedly captured
The Naypyidaw Regional Military Command announced that resistance forces captured the Shwe Pan police station and a military checkpoint on the Magway–Kanpya–Myothit–Naypyidaw road near the Magway-Naypyidaw border.
The attack began at around 3 a.m. on July 25 and was carried out by Battalions 903 and 803 under Operational Area 2. Nine military personnel, including a major, were reportedly killed, while the remaining troops withdrew with injuries. The resistance forces said they fully captured the post by 3:45 a.m.
They reportedly seized several rifles, a 40-mm grenade launcher, ammunition and about 3.5 million kyats in cash. A howitzer that could not be transported was destroyed.
The position was described as part of Naypyidaw’s outer defensive perimeter and had been occupied by around 30 soldiers and police officers.
In Thayawady District’s Thegon Township, resistance forces also ambushed a combined military and Pyu Saw Htee column on July 24. Five military personnel were reportedly killed and one seriously injured. After the attack, the column allegedly fired indiscriminately into nearby villages, killing one civilian and forcing about 450 residents to flee.
In Saw Township, local sources said at least 11 military personnel killed in continuing battles were buried at Mi Ai cemetery on July 22. On July 25, wounded soldiers, including two officers, were reportedly evacuated from Kyaukhtu by two transport helicopters.
In Tanintharyi Township, resistance forces said they ambushed a military column from Kyaukpone Taung camp twice on July 21. Military casualties were reported, although the exact number could not be independently confirmed.
3. Three civilians killed and 21 injured in airstrikes near Thandwe
The Arakan Army said military airstrikes around Thandwe in Rakhine State killed three civilians, including a pregnant woman, and injured 21 others, including children.
According to the AA, fighter jets carried out several attacks between shortly after midnight and around 3:40 p.m. on July 24.
At about 12:20 a.m., a jet dropped two bombs on Ward 7 in Thandwe. The bombs exploded near Shwe Yi Restaurant, injuring seven civilians and damaging three houses.
At approximately 11:20 a.m., another airstrike hit the same area, killing a student travelling by motorcycle and another civilian. Ten others were injured.
At around 12:30 p.m., military aircraft also bombed near a school in Yay Kauk village, damaging several school buildings.
At 3:40 p.m., two bombs were dropped near Thitsa Yaung Chi Oo monastery and a school in Ward 8. A pregnant woman, Daw Nwe Thu Zar, was killed by shrapnel. Four other civilians, including two children under ten, were injured. The monastery, school and two houses were damaged.
The military had also bombed civilian areas in Gyeiktaw and Linthar beach near Ngapali on July 23. Those attacks reportedly injured seven people, including a monk and a one-year-old child, and damaged eight houses, resort bungalows and other civilian properties.
4. Civilians killed and injured in Khin-U, Singu and Saw
Sources said military airstrikes and killings in Khin-U Township in Sagaing Region, Singu Township in Mandalay Region and Saw Township in Magway Region left four civilians dead and six injured.
At around 2 p.m. on July 25, three gyrocopters from the Northwestern Command reportedly dropped three bombs on Monhla village in Khin-U Township. A 60-year-old woman was killed and two others were injured. Several houses and rice barns, a tractor, a vehicle and ten fuel drums were destroyed by fire.
In Singu Township, military forces based in Htone Gyi village reportedly used drones to drop four bombs on Ywar Taw village despite there being no fighting in the area. Four civilians were injured.
In Saw Township, a military column operating in the Kyaukhtu area reportedly detained civilians as human shields and killed three people. The same column also detained 18 civilians, including elderly women, in Gyi village on July 24 before releasing them later that night.
5. Historic Pakhan Nge village reportedly set on fire
The Magway Region People’s Defense Organization said the military set fire to Pakhan Nge, also known as “Little Bagan,” in Chauk Township on the morning of July 25.
The village is known for cultural and historical sites dating from the same era as Bagan. Military troops reportedly began setting fires at 8:19 a.m. in four separate locations.
Pakhan Nge contains 81 preserved pagodas and ancient structures. Their interiors include artwork from the Bagan period, while external additions reflect the Nyaungyan, Inwa and Konbaung eras.
According to local tradition, followers and relatives of King Sawlu who had fled from King Kyansittha established the village. Missing Bagan, they built Bagan Myaw Pagoda at a location from which Bagan could be seen in the distance.
The destruction of the village has raised concern over the loss of important cultural and archaeological heritage.
6. Military reportedly upgrades MiG-29 jets with Russian assistance
The Myanmar Defense and Security Institute said the military has upgraded its ageing MiG-29 multirole fighter jets with Russian technical assistance and returned them to combat operations across the country.
Russian technicians reportedly carried out the upgrades at Hmawbi Air Base, focusing on flight navigation, target acquisition and attack systems. The work was said to have been completed in late 2025, followed by test flights.
The institute said the military is increasingly dependent on air power and has therefore upgraded older fighter aircraft to meet growing operational needs.
Myanmar first purchased 12 Russian-made MiG-29s in 2002 and acquired another 24 in 2010. About 20 are believed to remain operational. They are reportedly based at Magway, Taungoo and Hmawbi air bases.
Resistance groups have warned civilians to remain alert to the threat of airstrikes, as the military continues aerial attacks across Rakhine, Chin and other parts of Myanmar.
7. SCEF discusses political plans with federal units
The Steering Council for the Establishment of a Federal Democratic Union, or SCEF, said it met representatives of governments and legislatures from the Sagaing and Magway federal units and the Mandalay Region on July 17.
The meeting focused on the current political situation and future political plans. SCEF rotating chair Khu Oo Reh delivered the opening remarks, and participating leaders reportedly held open discussions about future tasks.
Prime Minister Mann Win Khaing Than, a member of SCEF’s strategy and policy leadership body, delivered the closing remarks. No further details of the discussions were released.
8. KIO opens court in Namhpakka; AA investigates rape and murder case
The Kachin Independence Organization opened a court in Namhpakka village, Kutkai Township, northern Shan State, on July 24 as part of efforts to strengthen local administration and the rule of law.
Local residents, religious leaders and representatives of the Arakan Army attended the opening ceremony.
Namhpakka is strategically located on the Union Highway. The KIA captured the area in January 2024 and has since been establishing administrative institutions there.
Meanwhile, the Arakan Army police said they arrested three suspects in connection with the rape and murder of a woman in her twenties in Ponnagyun Township, Rakhine State.
Civil society groups, including the Ponnagyun Youth Association and Arakan Women’s Voice, called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted and punished according to the law. Local residents are demanding justice for the victim.
9. Fifteen organizations call for condemnation of the military’s attacks
Fifteen political parties, strike committees, youth groups and ethnic organizations called on people in Myanmar and the international community to strongly condemn the military for its continued airstrikes and destruction of the country’s future.
In a joint statement dated July 24, the groups said the military’s operations were no longer simply battlefield actions but systematic attacks on human life, dignity and society.
They urged international organizations, people of all religions and ethnicities and supporters of justice to condemn the actions of Min Aung Hlaing and the military through every available means.
The statement accused the military of targeting civilians in areas where it is losing ground, carrying out mass killings, imposing “four cuts” operations and burning homes.
It said daily airstrikes were killing monks, elderly people, children and other civilians. The signatories included the Communist Party of Burma, the Democratic Party for a New Society, the Social Democratic Party, the All Burma Federation of Trade Unions, the General Strike Committee and several township, youth and ethnic organizations.
The military continues to bomb civilian towns and villages, schools, hospitals and religious buildings, causing continuing civilian casualties.
This concludes today’s m.CDM domestic news program. The reports were contributed by Ko Thit and Lu Lay.
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