This Month in Ah Nyar: A Quick Overview

• Political developments featured parallel processes, including NSPNC–MNDAA talks on political participation, internal changes within the USDP and continued efforts by federal and opposition actors to strengthen alternative political arrangements. Sagaing, Mandalay and Magway were formally confirmed as members of SCEF.
• Military activity remained concentrated around strategic road and river corridors in Sagaing. The military reportedly expanded positions along the Monywa–Ya Gyi–Kalewa and Kalay–Tamu roads, while fighting continued along the Irrawaddy River.
• Major military operations continued around Pakokku and Gangaw, alongside intermittent guerrilla attacks elsewhere in Magway. Fighting intensified around the Myaing oil fields, while military columns also advanced from Laungshwe toward Kanpetlet of Yaw.
• Drone attacks targeted Tada-U Air Base, with the NUG reporting damage to two YAK-130 aircraft in Mandalay. Military forces also reportedly redeployed troops around Madaya, while guerrilla attacks and resistance training continued in southern Mandalay.
• Aerial attacks remained a major concern across Ah Nyar, with Magway and Sagaing recording high numbers of reported airstrikes. September also saw reported killings in several townships, including attacks affecting civilians, religious figures and local communities.

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Political developments during the month reflected several parallel processes, including engagement around the military-led political process, internal developments within established political parties, and continued efforts by opposition and federal actors to develop alternative political arrangements.

The NSPNC of the military junta held talks with the MNDAA in Naypyidaw, reportedly including discussions on the MNDAA forming a political party and participating in the election. The Central Working Committee of the NLD also called for meaningful political dialogue involving political and ethnic forces and other stakeholders, alongside reducing violence and releasing political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

On the USDP, the military-backed political party temporarily suspended its party conference amid reported internal disputes over the election of its executive leadership. The conference subsequently concluded with Khin Yi being re-elected as party chairman, while Min Aung Hlaing’s preferred candidates were reportedly not elected to the party’s top executive positions. The USDP also confirmed that Min Aung Hlaing had become a party member.

Meanwhile, Sagaing Federal Unit, Mandalay Region and Magway Federal Unit were formally confirmed as members of SCEF under its State/Federal Unit/ERO representation pillar. The NUG also continued efforts to strengthen internal coordination, while the military-led parliament reportedly established the Myanmar Parliamentary Union (MPU).

Sagaing

In Sagaing, political and administrative developments focused primarily on strengthening interim governance capacity. The NUG Ministry of Home Affairs, Sagaing Federal Unit Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Mingin Township People’s Administration Team jointly organised a five-day refresher training on interim public administration, attended by more than 100 ward- and village-level administrative officials. The training covered interim administration and capacity building, conflict resolution, emergency security and disaster management, administrative procedures, and rule-of-law-related processes. Sagaing Federal Unit was also confirmed as a new member of the Federal Democratic Union Leading Council (SCEF), together with the Mandalay Region and Magway Federal Unit, under the council’s State/Federal Unit/ERO representation pillar.

Magway

In Magway, political developments centred on the institutional consolidation of the Interim Magway Federal Unit Government and its coordination with the NUG. Magway Federal Unit Parliament enacted a Defence and Security Law, which provides a legal basis for the Federal Unit to establish its own parallel security arrangements alongside the NUG. The Parliament also enacted the Magway Federal Unit Attorney General Law during its 12th regular session, further expanding the Federal Unit’s institutional and legal framework. The Interim Magway Federal Unit Government released its six-month activity report. Chief Minister Dr Ye Htun Zaw also reported ongoing coordination with the NUG to bring People’s Defence Forces (PaKaPha) operating within Magway under the command structure of the Federal Unit Government. The Magway Federal Unit was also confirmed as a new member of SCEF.

Mandalay

In Mandalay, the main political development was the formal inclusion of the Mandalay Region in SCEF. No further developments concerning the division of competencies between the NUG and the MIGC were reported this month, although human rights focal persons from Mandalay, formerly under the NUG Ministry of Human Rights, met with the MIGC. Separately, the Mandalay Regional Hluttaw met with the Mandalay Civil Disobedience Movement Organisation (MCDMO) to exchange updates on legislative work, CDM support, political prisoners, and assistance provided during the Sagaing floods.

Security

Sagaing

Military activity in Sagaing remained concentrated around strategic transport routes and river corridors. Along the Monywa–Ya Gyi–Kalewa road, an important route connecting to India–Burma border trade, the military reportedly expanded checkpoints, with new checkpoints being established at intervals of approximately three miles (Mandalay Free Press). The road had reportedly remained under resistance control since late 2022, before the military began renewed operations to regain access following the Thingyan period and reportedly reached sections of the route in June. Military positions were also reportedly expanded along the Kalay–Tamu Road, another important India–Burma trade route.

Military and resistance activity also continued along the Ayeyarwady River corridor. Reports indicated repeated KIA attacks on military vessels transporting supplies and equipment to Bhamaw. Several military and cargo vessels were reportedly damaged or sunk, while only one supply vessel was reported to have reached Bhamaw. As of 9 September, resistance groups destroyed 13 military and cargo vessels, according to a local media report.

In Wetlet Township, a military column comprising LID 33 forces, Mingun-based Pyu Saw Htee forces, and Infantry Battalion 12 reportedly conducted operations along the eastern bank of the Irrawaddy River. At least 15 clashes were reported over a seven-month period. According to an announcement by Resistance Battalion 2 of Shwebo District, at least 100 military personnel were reportedly killed during the clashes, while resistance forces also claimed to have seized weapons and ammunition. Meanwhile, guerrilla attacks were also reported on the main road connecting Monywa and Sagaing.

Magway

Major military operations and resistance activities continued in the two major zones of Pakokku and Gangaw districts, while intermittent guerrilla attacks were widely reported across other districts on the eastern bank of the Irrawaddy River. In Myaing Township, military forces reportedly destroyed oil wells in the Kyauk Khwet oil field, with four wells reportedly burned or destroyed in early September. Local sources also reported further destruction of oil wells and other structures in the area during the month. The Naypyidaw regime claimed that at least 800 oil wells across Myaing and Pauk townships had been destroyed during its operations in the area.

The Ah Nyar–Tamar resistance coalition is actively confronting Tatmadaw forces from LID 101 and LID 99 in the region, with major clashes reported across several villages surrounding the oil fields.

In Gangaw district (locally known as Yaw), a combined military column of approximately 300 troops from KaPaSa 25 reportedly entered the area from Laungshwe in September. Six newly conscripted soldiers reportedly fled from the column between Laungshwe and Taungbo Gyi and remained at large.

Later in the month, a military column of more than 500 troops led by a commander from LID77 reportedly entered Laungshwe on 23 September and began advancing toward Kanpetlet Township in southern Chin State from 26 September, with reported air support. Subsequent reporting indicated that resistance forces had intercepted the column as it advanced toward Kanpetlet.

Other resistance operations were reported in Natmauk, Minbu, Taungdwingyi, and Sinbaungwe. These included attacks on military columns, security personnel, and military-linked vehicles. On 19 September, a resistance drone unit reportedly attacked a military convoy of 185 vehicles travelling along the Salin–Kanpya road.  

Mandalay

The Ministry of Defence of the NUG reported that its drone units carried out targeted attacks on areas where YAK-130 military aircraft were stationed at Tada-U Air Base, reportedly damaging two aircraft. During related ground clashes, the NUG MOD also claimed that five Tatmadaw personnel, including Colonel Myo Hlaing Oo from Air Defence Battalion No. 7, were killed. Three resistance fighters were also reported killed during the operation.

No military movement was observed in upper Mandalay – areas where Operation 1027 controlled. In central Mandalay, military forces reportedly redeployed part of their troops from positions east of Madaya Township to Madaya town, following the reported reassertion of military control over the eastern part of the township. Local sources said that troops were withdrawn from positions around Satetaw Gyi, Kyauk Seik Lay, Ingyin Myaing, and Kin villages and concentrated in Madaya town, while substantial forces reportedly remained in those areas.

In southern Mandalay, intermittent guerrilla attacks were reported in Myingyan District, alongside military training organised by the NUG Ministry of Defence for Resistance Battalions 4 and 10.

Human Rights

ISP Myanmar reported that, after General Ye Win Oo took charge as commander-in-chief, over 1580 aerial attacks were conducted nationwide. Among them, Magway recorded the highest number of aerial attacks between March and August 2026, with over 320 attacks, while over 240 aerial attacks occurred in Sagaing.

Amid increasing militarisation and efforts to assert territorial control, Tatmadaw forces used drones not only for reconnaissance but also to carry out attacks targeting people, including through explosive-laden drones, in Magway, Sagaing, and Mandalay. Our investigation team recorded that one LGBT person, over 60 years old, was killed by Tatmadaw drone attacks against the football playing field in Taung Ywar Ma village, Seikphyu township, Magway. Another woman and three male villagers were injured. Most victims were odd-job and seasonal workers who had gone there to watch the football match.

In addition, in September, massacre incidents involving the deaths of at least five people occurred in townships such as Mindon, Ye-U, Indaw and Ngazon. Local sources reported that Tatmadaw naval personnel involved in aerial attacks were rewarded for carrying out such deadly operations, which are often seen as an indicator of their ability to accurately hit targets. Monks, lay attendants (locally known as kappiya), and alms-givers have also been among those killed in attacks across Central Burma. One incident, among others, was that on September 6, five people, including a monk, were killed in airstrikes by the Tatmadaw in Min Gyoe village, Ngazon township, Mandalay.

On-the-ground operations through raids were recorded in the villages located between Chaung U and Monywa townships in Sagaing, as well as the villages along the Seikphyu-Saw road from Magway. Patterns of human shields, shooting, extrajudicial killings and burning homes were committed by the column of the Tatmadaw raids, according to local sources.