The armed forces are facing fierce resistance from rebels opposed to the February 2021 coup that overthrew the civilian government led by former Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
In Myanmar, new clashes have been recorded in recent days between the armed forces and rebels fighting against the military junta, with residents speaking yesterday Saturday of 14 dead in a village, among civilians, in a military raid the previous day.
The armed forces are facing fierce resistance from rebels who oppose the February 2021 coup that overthrew the civilian government led by former Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup was followed by a wave of brutal repression that left thousands dead.
The junta is specifically fighting People’s Defense Force rebels and decades-old ethnic armed groups that control border areas.
An army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP that fighting had continued in recent days in Kachin, Karen and Kaya states, as well as in Sagaing and Maguire regions.
Two villagers, who asked not to be named, said for their part that the army raided in search of People’s Power leaders. According to one of the two, six of the victims were members of the rebel organization, but the remaining eight were civilians.
Their bodies were found scattered and it was obvious that they were killed while trying to flee to save themselves.
“Fighting and raids on People’s Defense Force strongholds in the Sagaing and Magui regions are continuing these days,” a second military source confirmed to AFP, without giving details. He also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Access to war zones is extremely difficult for journalists, which complicates the possibility of independently verifying this information.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told Southeast Asian counterparts that pressure must be stepped up on the military junta to end the violence and allow democratic government to be restored.
To date, diplomatic and economic pressures have had no effect.
The military junta, which justified the 2021 coup by citing alleged fraud in an election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party months earlier, has promised to hold new elections.
But the process has already been postponed once and, last week, the military regime hinted that it intends to extend the state of emergency further and postpone the election again.
Source :Skai
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