Coup of the generals
Fierce fighting: Heavy losses for Myanmar’s military
A Myanmarese man looks towards the Indian side at the India-Myanmar border. photo
© Anupam Nath/AP/dpa
It is probably the biggest test for Myanmar’s military since the coup at the beginning of 2021. Armed groups are rehearsing an uprising – with success.
There has been particularly fierce fighting in eastern Shan State on the border with China since the end of October. “Since the operation began, more than 154 bases and outposts of the Myanmar military have been occupied by the Brother Alliance,” a spokesman for ISP Myanmar, a non-governmental think tank, told the German Press Agency.
The alliance includes three groups: the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army (AA). All three are traditionally very close to China. According to its own information and media reports, the brother alliance also managed to take over at least six small towns in the region.
Tens of thousands on the run
MNDAA spokesman Li Kyarwen told dpa that at least 150 soldiers of the ruling junta had died. The information could not initially be independently verified. According to the UN, tens of thousands of people are on the run in the border region alone. Many are trying to get to China.
For the junta, it is one of the biggest military challenges since it came to power in February 2021. Since the generals’ coup, the former Burma – a multi-ethnic state – has descended into chaos and violence. The deposed former head of government Aung San Suu Kyi is in prison.
Fights in different parts of the country
In other states too – such as Chin State on the border with India and Bangladesh, Karenni State in the far east and in the Sagaing region – armed groups are said to have risen against the military and taken over various towns and military posts. Almost 450 soldiers have already laid down their weapons in various parts of the country, the newspaper “The Irrawaddy” reported. “But the actual number could be higher as more and more junta positions are being abandoned,” the paper wrote.
In view of the successes of the resistance groups, the president of the crisis state, Myint Swe, who was appointed by the junta, had already warned of the country’s collapse almost two weeks ago. “If the government does not deal effectively with the incidents in the border region, it will divide the country into different parts,” he said.