6 dead in Myanmar clashes, anti-coup rebels say

YANGON • Six opposition rebels have been killed after days of clashes in Myanmar, an anti-junta defence force made up of civilians said yesterday, as Britain and the United States condemned the military's violence against civilians.

The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a Feb 1 coup, triggering a massive uprising which the authorities have sought to quell with lethal force.

Some in the anti-junta movement have set up local militias armed with home-made weapons to protect their towns from security forces - which have killed at least 790 civilians, according to a local monitoring group.

In the western state of Chin, the town of Mindat has emerged as a hot spot for unrest, where some residents have formed the Chinland Defence Force (CDF).

"Six members of our CDF who tried to protect the security of the people in Mindat attacked (junta forces) and sacrificed their lives for the national revolution," the group said yesterday.

A spokesman told Agence France-Presse that more than 10 have been hurt during the past week, while five Mindat residents were arrested by the military.

With mobile data blocked across the country, details about the fighting have been slow to come out, and on-the-ground verification is made harder as locals are fearful of retaliation.

The spokesman, who declined to be named, said CDF fighters set fire to several army trucks, destroying them, and ambushed reinforcements, while the military has attacked the town with artillery.

By yesterday, the CDF had retreated into the jungle, he said. "We will not stay any more in the town... but we will come back to attack soon. We only have home-made guns. This was not enough."

The US and British embassies in Myanmar sounded the alarm on Mindat's unrest, calling for security forces to cease violence.

"The military's use of weapons of war against civilians, including this week in Mindat, is a further demonstration of the depths the regime will sink to to hold onto power," the US embassy said in a tweet last Saturday.

"Attacks on civilians are illegal and cannot be justified," said the British embassy, referring to reports of violence from Mindat.

State-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported yesterday that a military tribunal would be convened to try "perpetrators of terrorist attacks" in Mindat.

Security forces faced multiple attacks which left one man dead, said the newspaper, and an ambush last Friday by "1,000 rioters" killed some soldiers - though it did not say how many.

Across the country, anti-coup protesters continued to march for democracy - with demonstrators in northern Hpakant holding signs that said "Stay strong, Mindat".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE