Ceasefire in Shan State between ethnic militias and Myanmar’s army does not hold
The Ta'ang National Liberation Army announced that the military continued to attack and bomb areas bordering China, which had brokered agreements to protect its citizens and investments. Meanwhile, the Arakan Army has gained control of the border with India. As it faces growing difficulties, the military tries to recruit military personnel among civilians in the central regions.
Yangon (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The ceasefire brokered by China between Myanmar’s military junta and the Three Brotherhood Alliance lasted less than a day, one of the rebel groups reported.
The rebel alliance, made up of three ethnic militias, had launched an offensive in late October against government troops, successfully taking over areas in the northern Shan State.
Yesterday, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) announced that the military violated the ceasefire agreement signed on 12 January carrying out attacks in three townships in Shan State the day after the deal, which called for a pause in fighting in the northern state bordering China.
The ceasefire was signed after the militias seized Laukkai, in the Kokang region, on 5 January, a town where many Chinese nationals live and work.
Also yesterday, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) – also part of the Alliance – said that it lifted martial law that had been imposed by the junta in the area.
In a statement, the alliance explains that the ceasefire aimed, among other things, at protecting Chinese investments and civilians in Shan State, an additional sign of how Beijing is working to safeguard its interests in Myanmar rather than for an overall solution to the conflict.
Meanwhile, another Alliance group, the Arakan Army, a militia active in the western state of Rakhine, announced that it had captured Paletwa, Chin State. The battle for control of the city on the Kaladan River, near the border with India and Bangladesh, began in mid-November.
As a result, the militias are now in control of the entire western border, including the crossings leading to the Indian state of Mizoram, where many refugees have fled since the outbreak of the hostilities following the military coup in February 2021.
This is yet another success for the resistance, which in the last three months has captured 42 towns, mainly along the borders.
Since the Three Brotherhood Alliance launched Operation 1027 at the end of October, the Myanmar army has found itself in great difficulty, to the point that it seems that the stability of the regime may be at risk.
The offensive has also received greater attention because, for the first time since the outbreak of the civil war, separate armed groups opposed to the military regime joined forces; in the states of Kachin, Chin and Kayah in recent months, they seized hundreds of army bases and outposts, captured some generals, and forced hundreds of soldiers to surrender.
On 12 January, in Kayah, militias announced the capture of most of Pekon Township, in the southern part of Shan State.
For its part, the military is trying to recruit civilians in the Bago region. Up to 50 residents per village are being drafted through a raffle system to undergo a month of training before they join the army, Radio Free Asia reports.
To reach this goal, junta soldiers are threatening families to burn down their villages if they refuse to cooperate. Alternatively, people can choose to pay between 800,000 and 1 million kyat (US$ 380 to US$ 476) to be exempt from service, a price that is prohibitive for most residents.
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13/03/2023 18:13
