Junta soldiers attack St Patrick's Catholic Church in Bhamo, Kachin, a day before Saint Patrick’s. In Mandalay at least 27 dead are killed in an airstrike today. Meanwhile, civilians protest against ethnic militias for abuses and forced recruitment. In Rakhine Chinese security personnel  are already present to protect Chinese investments.

Yangon (AsiaNews) – Myanmar troops set fire to St Patrick's Cathedral in Bhamo, Kachin State, leaving it in total ruin. The attack took place yesterday, around 4 pm, on eve of St Patrick’s. The priest's house, the three-storey building that houses the diocesan offices and the high school had already been set on fire on 26 February.

In the Mandalay region, the military today struck a village, killing at least 27 people, including some children, in Singu Township, which has been held since July last year by the People's Defence Forces (PDF), an armed militia fighting the military regime.

These are but the latest tragic incidents in the country’s civil war, which broke out in February 2021 following s military coup. More than four years after the start of the fighting, the country is more fragmented. Civilians are protesting again, but now, it is against ethnic militias who have liberated some areas from the military.

Last week, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) began conscripting men aged 18 to 45 in Mogok, a town in the Mandalay region that it controls, in order to set up a local garrison. At least one male from each family is expected to join.

When this became public, residents began complaining. “We do not accept this … it looks like it’s mandatory … and they’d likely use force to collect conscripts if people refuse,” a local source said. “After facing objections, they are abducting men in the streets. The TNLA treats people like the regime did,” one woman told The Irrawaddy.

The TNLA, whose members are mostly ethnic Palaung, is accused of forcibly recruiting women and girls as well; according to another source, it is also trying to ban Internet, like the military junta.

Last year, Myanmar’s military regime imposed compulsory military service for men aged 18 to 45 and for women between 18 and 35 in all cities under its control.

Mogok, like other cities, was liberated from the regime in July last year, during the second phase of Operation 1027, an offensive launched by the TNLA, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Arakan Army (AA).

Civilians are also dissatisfied with the MNDAA in the areas it controls.

Last week, came out against gold mining near Pying Kham, a village in Kutkai Township, a predominantly Kachin area, calling Chinese workers employed at the site to stop working because of damage that it is causing to farming. Militiamen fired on the crowd, killing six people and wounding six others.

The MNDAA has been accused of forcing residents of Hseni Township to lease their lands to the group for banana plantations at rates lower than the market price since last week.

“The MNDAA is already ploughing our lands. We don’t dare to protest since they have arms,” a source said to a local newspaper.

In August last year, the group captured the city of Lashio, which held an important Myanmar military base.  The militia and the military later signed a ceasefire brokered by China, which has relations with both, but it is unclear whether the MNDAA will withdraw from the city or not.

The TNLA also met with Chinese officials last month, but no agreement was reached.

Also last week, junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing met Deng Xijun, Chinese special envoy for Asian affairs, in the capital Naypyidaw, two days after returning from Russia and Belarus.

According to Global New Light of Myanmar, the military regime's mouthpiece, the two men discussed the junta's plan to hold elections, but also talked about cooperation to crack down on online fraud and drug trafficking.

According to some observers, however, the Chinese official was trying to follow up on an agreement that provides for the deployment of Chinese security personnel in areas with infrastructure projects financed by Beijing.

Fighting between the Arakan Army and Myanmar troops have been going on for weeks in Kyaukphyu, a city in the western state of Rakhine, site of several Chinese projects, including a deep-water port and some gas and oil pipelines that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative that reach Kunming, in China's Yunnan province.

This is a key project because it would allow China to bypass the Strait of Malacca and have direct access to the Indian Ocean.

Local residents have reported that Chinese security personnel have already arrived in the region, which China would like to turn into a special economic zone, an initiative backed by Myanmar’s military.

In his recent meeting with Deng Xijun, General Min Aung Hlaing, whose forces are facing large losses in Rakhine, may have discussed the possibility of signing a ceasefire with the AA as well.

The situation on the ground, however, seems to be going in the opposite direction: This morning an offensive was reportedly underway against a military base in Nayungyo, on the Irrawaddy River, with the AA in control of almost the whole of Rakhine State.

• myanmar
• china
• kachin
• arakan
• rakhine
• civil war
• military
• militias
• violence
• civilians