Burma has been marked in recent days by violent fighting in the north of the country. An alliance of ethnic minority groups has launched an offensive that threatens the military junta, in power since the coup against Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. But who are these armed groups? What is happening in northern Burma? Why is China taking up the subject? 20 minutes explains everything to you.
What is happening in northern Burma?
Fighting intensified last week in large areas of northern Shan State, near the border with China. Armed groups said Saturday they had seized dozens of outposts and four towns, and blocked important trade routes to China. A few days earlier, a junta spokesperson had described claims that armed groups had taken control of several towns in Shan State as “propaganda”.
Who are these armed groups?
It is an alliance of ethnic minority groups: the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army (AA). ). More than a dozen ethnic groups operate in Burma, particularly in the border regions, demanding more political autonomy, control of part of the country’s natural wealth or lucrative trafficking. Some of them trained and equipped the armed groups made up of political opponents who spread across the country after the 2021 coup against Aung San Suu Kyi and the repression that followed.
What does the UN say?
The UN expressed concern about the situation on Monday. “We are concerned about the heavy fighting, particularly in Shan State in the north of the country, with reports of artillery fire and airstrikes resulting in civilian casualties,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, without giving further details.
The fighting has also left “tens of thousands of new people displaced”, several hundred of whom have left the country, he added. “According to our humanitarian colleagues, since October 26, nearly 33,000 men, women and children have been displaced, which increases humanitarian needs,” said the official. Secretary General Antonio Guterres “reaffirms that civilians must be protected,” insisted Stéphane Dujarric, also calling for “unhindered” access to humanitarian aid.
Why is China taking up the subject?
“China is very concerned about the conflict situation in northern Burma, expresses strong dissatisfaction with the escalation of the armed conflict and the casualties caused on the Chinese side, and has solemnly protested to relevant parties,” he told the press Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, without specifying whether these were people injured or killed.
According to local Burmese media, on Saturday a Chinese man was killed and two others injured when a Burmese army shell landed on the Chinese side. This shell targeted the town of Laiza, Burma, where the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic group, is located. China has urged Burma to “cooperate” to ensure the stability of their common border, Beijing said on Monday, after armed groups on the Burmese side captured a strategic border town.
As the alliance blocked important trade routes to China, a Chinese assistant foreign minister visited Myanmar from Friday to Sunday. Beijing had already called last week for an immediate ceasefire in the region.