The chair and secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plan to travel to Myanmar this week even as the 10-nation group remains divided on how to respond to the military coup there, four diplomatic sources have said. Myanmar is a member of ASEAN which has a policy of non-interference in the affairs of members, but it has led the main diplomatic effort to resolve the crisis that has engulfed the country since 1 February when the military staged a

Conflict has raged for decades in Myanmar’s borderlands, where myriad ethnic armed groups are fighting with the military for greater autonomy. Since February’s coup, however, dozens of new, grassroots people’s defence forces have emerged to oppose the junta, with battles occurring in areas of the country that were previously peaceful.“The people of Myanmar have been left with no other choice.

A shadow government in Myanmar seeking to reverse the 1 February coup has joined forces with a rebel group to "demolish" junta rule, it said Saturday.Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) government and launched a brutal crackdown on dissent.

Myanmar's junta chief has said deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health and will appear in court within days during the general's first television interview since the coup.Min Aung Hlaing, who toppled Suu Kyi in a 1 February putsch, gave a two-hour interview to Hong Kong's Phoenix Television on Thursday, with the full programme yet to air."Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health.

Desperate residents of a Myanmar town hit by clashes between the military and an anti-junta defence force pleaded for help Wednesday as the United Nations (UN) warned the fighting may have forced thousands to flee.Government forces used artillery to flush out rebels from the western town of Mindat after fighting broke out on 12 May, a spokesman for a local insurgent group said, and later cut off its water supply.One resident who did not want to be named said that most of those who had been tr

Six opposition rebels have been killed after days of clashes in Myanmar, an anti-junta defence force made up of civilians said Sunday, as Britain and the United States (US) condemned the military's violence against civilians.Myanmar has been in uproar since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a 1 February coup, triggering a massive uprising which authorities have sought to quell with lethal force. Pope Francis on Sunday called for an end to the bloodshed and

The special ASEAN leaders meeting conducted on Saturday 24 April indicates a collective attempt by the regional organisation to seriously deal with the deteriorating situation in Myanmar based on “the ASEAN way”. The face-to-face forum, hosted by Indonesia at the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta, resulted in a five-point-consensus; summarising plans to stabilise the political turmoil in Myanmar. This agenda, however, has attracted supports as well as criticisms towards ASEAN.

Beaten, kicked in the groin and threatened with sexual violence – a young Myanmar teenager detained by the junta's security forces has described the treatment suffered by some women and girls behind bars.Ma Chaw, 17, and her mother were arrested on 14 April in Yangon, Myanmar's commercial capital, which has been blanketed with heavy security since the military seized power in a coup.As they were walking to a friend's house from a morning protest, she said, they were stopped by

A former Myanmar beauty queen has joined ethnic rebels to take up arms against the country's military junta, posting photos of herself with an assault rifle.Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralysed since the military seized power on 1 February, ousting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Htar Htet Htet represented Myanmar in the first Miss Grand International beauty pageant in Thailand in 2013, competing against 60 contenders in swimsuit and national costume rounds.Fast forward e

A judge on Monday ordered Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to appear in person in court for the first time on 24 May, her lawyer said, after weeks of delays in her case.The Nobel laureate has not been seen in public since she was detained in a 1 February coup, when the military ousted her from power and re-installed its rule.She was subsequently hit with a series of charges, and her legal team has faced an uphill battle to get a private audience with their client.Multiple court