Offensive in northern Myanmar with anti-junta forces entering Sagaing from Shan
The People's Defence Forces, which are fighting against Myanmar's military junta along with ethnic militias, announced the capture of Kawlin City, the first major population centre that could be administered by the National Unity Government (NUG. The advance on the ground war favoured by the dry season, but the military has been carrying air strikes in the region for four days. Meanwhile, China continues to demand progress on its infrastructure projects.
Yangon (AsiaNews) – After launching Operation 1027 in the northern part of Myanmar, the People's Defence Forces (PDFs), which are fighting against Myanmar’s military junta, said they had taken Kawlin City in Sagaing, a region also in the north of the country.
This is a major achievement for the anti-coup group, as Kawlin is the first major population centre to be liberated from the regime’s control and (perhaps) the first city that will be administered by the exiled National Unity Government (NUG).
After the military staged a coup d'état on 1 February 2021, ousting the government led by leader Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Myanmar's historic ethnic militias, who have been fighting for decades for the autonomy of their regions, joined the PDF, the armed wing of the government-in-exile, set up by former NLD lawmakers.
On 27 October (hence the name of the operation), three militias began an offensive in Shan State against army troops stationed on the border with China, starting a series of simultaneous attacks favoured by the dry season, when it is easier to move on the ground, especially in the forest. About a hundred military outposts in Shan State appear to have been recaptured.
On Friday, the local PDFs, the Arakan Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) stormed army bases near Kawlin, eliciting junta air strikes over the past four days.
The extent of the damage and casualties are not yet known, but the militias said they had evacuated at least 10,000 residents stranded in the city due to aerial bombing. About three quarters of residents appear to have fled, a volunteer said.
Unlike border regions, most people in Sagaing are ethnic Bamar, the country’s predominantly Buddhist majority group, who in the past tended to be loyal to the military.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting is still reported in other parts of the country, including Namkham Township, in northern Shan State, where the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and some local PDFs are battling the army.
Combined KIA forces and PDFs also attacked a junta warship on the Ayeyarwady River in Katha, Sagaing.
Alarmed by the deteriorating security situation along its border, China called on Myanmar "to cooperate with China to maintain stability along the China-Myanmar border” and “take effective measures to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel," Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong said.
According to some sources, at least one Chinese national has died as a result of the recent fighting. Nong, who visited Myanmar from 3 to 5 November, said China supports all sides, in the hope that they will achieve reconciliation through dialogue.
In reality, China is the main supplier of weapons to Myanmar’s military junta after Russia; at the same time, it has also armed some ethnic militias hoping to keep its borders stable for trade after civil war broke out two years ago.
A few days after the start of Operation 1027, Wang Xiaohong, a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, met with the head of the Myanmar military, General Min Aung Hlaing.
Wang, who is also a State Councillor and Minister of Public Security, called for an acceleration of Chinese projects in Myanmar, which are part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013 to link China to the Mideast and Europe.
He and his Myanmar hosts discussed closer cooperation between the two countries on the rule of law and security, and the establishment of a strong security apparatus for both communities, according to the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar.
The ethnic militias' offensive is taking place right where the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor is expected to be built, centred on a railway connecting the southern Chinese province of Yunnan to Kyaukphyu, on the Indian Ocean, after crossing Shan State and the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar.
.png)
