Myanmar briefing: deadly blast in central Sittwe as fighting nears the Rakhine capital; Aung San Suu Kyi allowed first call with her son in five years

Neither side’s battlefield claims can be independently confirmed. That applies to claims by the military government and by the resistance groups alike.

This is our twice-weekly summary of the war in Myanmar, based on local media, monitoring groups, UN agencies and the parties’ own statements. Figures are as reported by the named sources up to Sunday 25 October 2026. For the previous summary, see Myanmar briefing, 22 October.

What’s changed since the last briefing

• An explosion at a crowded junction in central Sittwe, the Rakhine State capital, on Friday 23 October killed at least nine people, DVB reported. Other sources gave different figures (details below).
• The military government said it allowed Aung San Suu Kyi to speak by phone with her son, Kim Aris, on 22 October. He said it was their first direct contact in more than five years.
• The Chin National Front (CNF) said it held new talks with a rival Chin resistance body on reuniting the two factions.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on 24 October that its team remains in Sittwe, while personnel from some other organisations have reportedly left.

Key developments

Rakhine State. Residents told DVB that a military jet was seen over Sittwe before the 23 October blast on Min Bar Gyi Road, and that it was unclear whether it was caused by an airstrike, artillery or an explosive device. The Development Media Group (DMG) reported that a military Y-12 aircraft dropped bombs on at least three places in the city centre that morning, killing at least six people and injuring more than 30. MSF said its team heard intense shelling, gunfire and aircraft overhead, and that at least one shell exploded at a junction used by civilians, with at least two killed and 17 injured; MSF did not say who was responsible. Neither the military nor the Arakan Army (AA) issued a statement on the blast, DVB said.

DVB reported that the AA has been fighting since 11 October for an army engineering battalion base in Kyarmathauk village, about four miles north of the military’s Regional Operations Command headquarters in Sittwe. DMG reported continued fighting on Ngapyi Island, where the military has repeatedly tried amphibious landings. DMG also reported, citing residents, that soldiers and police were ordering people in Sittwe to dismantle bomb shelters built at their homes.

Chin State. State media reported that the military retook Hlaingdoke village in Kanpetlet Township on 21 October and recovered the bodies of at least 11 resistance fighters, DVB reported. The military does not publish its own casualty figures.

Humanitarian impact

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a rights group, said on 23 October that 8,608 people had been killed by the military and pro-military groups since the 2021 coup, and that 15,084 people were confirmed to be still in detention. It said 44 women and girls were killed by military attacks between 1 and 23 October, 42 of them in airstrikes, with the highest tolls in Rakhine State and Magway Region. UNHCR put the number of internally displaced people in Myanmar at 4,033,100 as of 31 August.

Politics and diplomacy

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Aung San Suu Kyi, who is serving her sentences at a designated residence, spoke to Kim Aris through the Myanmar embassy in London for 20 minutes “on humanitarian grounds”, in line with International Committee of the Red Cross procedures. Aris told Radio Free Asia his mother “sounds healthy” but has painful tendonitis in her hand, and that he had not been told whether further calls would be allowed.

The CNF said it met the Interim Chin National Consultative Council in Aizawl, India, on 16 and 17 October and agreed to draft a joint constitution. “We saw favorable prospects for reunification,” CNF executive Salai Khua Uk Lian told DVB, adding that the CNF does not trust President Min Aung Hlaing, who invited it to peace talks on 15 October.

The Irrawaddy reported that a US delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State Michael Vance held a second round of talks with military government officials in Tokyo this month, after meeting Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw in September. The US State Department said it engages with all groups in Myanmar on US interests and has raised ending violence and freeing political prisoners, according to Reuters.

Why it matters, according to officials and experts

“Civilians must be protected from conflict continuing to rage across Rakhine State,” MSF’s Myanmar operations manager Paul Brockmann said. Kim Aris said countries should not welcome Min Aung Hlaing “without actually having secured progress”.

Views on US engagement differ. NUG Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung told The Irrawaddy the US approach was “transactional” and did not grant legitimacy to anyone. Debbie Stothard of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma said the US was “rewarding a criminal”.

Background

Myanmar’s military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government on 1 February 2021. Armed resistance followed from People’s Defence Forces loyal to the National Unity Government (NUG) and from ethnic armed groups. Min Aung Hlaing became president in April after an election held between December and January. The AA controls 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships and Paletwa in Chin State, while Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung remain under military control, DVB reported. The next briefing is due on Thursday.