Myanmar military says it has lost control of strategic border town
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Three ethnic armed groups say they have seized several military posts and key roads linking Myanmar with China.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
YANGON - Myanmar’s military has lost control of a strategic northern town on the Chinese border, following days of clashes with three ethnic armed groups, a junta spokesman said.
Since last Friday, fighting has raged across a swathe of Myanmar’s northern Shan state, where a billion-dollar rail link is planned
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) say they have seized several military posts and key roads
“Government, administrative organisations and security organisations are no longer present” in Chinshwehaw town, which borders China’s Yunnan province, said Mr Zaw Min Tun in a statement on Wednesday.
Clashes have taken place at 10 locations across Shan state over the past six days, he said, without giving casualty numbers.
He accused the three armed groups of “blowing up power stations, blowing up bridges, destroying transportation routes”, without giving details.
On Thursday, China called for an “immediate” ceasefire.
Beijing “urges all parties to immediately cease fire and stop fighting”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular press briefing.
More than a quarter of Myanmar’s US$1.8 billion (S$2.46 billion) worth of border trade with China from April to September passed through Chinshwehaw, the junta-controlled media reported in September, citing the commerce ministry.
MNDAA released footage on Monday that it said showed its fighters occupying Chinshwehaw.
A resident of Hsenwi, around 90km from Chinshwehaw, said on Thursday that residents could hear the sound of fighting outside the town, although there was no fighting in or around it.
Internet access was patchy and thousands of people arrived in the town seeking safety, the resident said, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
AA, MNDAA and TNLA – which analysts say can call on at least 15,000 fighters between them – have fought regularly with the military over autonomy and control of resources.
AA, MNDAA and TNLA say the military has suffered, with dozens wounded, killed and captured since last Friday.
Analysts say both sides likely inflate or deflate casualty figures.
The United Nations says it fears thousands of people have been displaced, with some fleeing across the border into China.
On Tuesday, China’s Minister for Public Security
They discussed attacks by MNDAA “on security camps... with attempts to deteriorate peace and stability in the region”, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
China is a top ally and major arms supplier of the junta, and has refused to label the junta’s 2021 power grab a coup.
Beijing maintains ties with some ethnic armed groups along its border with Myanmar, which is home to ethnic Chinese communities who use Chinese SIM cards and currency. It previously denied reports that it has supplied the armed groups with weapons. AFP
