Regime Marks ASEAN Peace Visit by Bombing Civilians; Demands End to Regional Boycott; and More

The junta marked the Malaysian foreign minister’s peace mission to Naypyitaw this week in typical fashion, launching airstrikes before and after his visit that killed nearly 40 civilians.

Yet on Thursday, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing told Minister Mohamad Hasan and ASEAN’s special envoy Othman Hashim that he had invited ethnic armed groups to join the “peace process” and urged resistance forces he labels “terrorists” to return to politics.

His words rang hollow. Two days earlier, on Tuesday, junta aircraft bombed Chaung‑U in Sagaing Region, killing at least 26 people including children and injuring more than 40 in the resistance-held township.