Tag: junta

UN: Myanmar junta ‘doubles down’ on civilian attacks as forced military recruitment begins

Myanmar’s ruling military junta has “doubled down” on civilian attacks while showing signs of becoming “increasingly desperate” by imposing military service, the UN special rapporteur on the country said Wednesday. Earlier this month, the military said it would enforce a law allowing it to call up all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 to serve for at least two years, as it struggles to quell opposition to its 2021 coup. “While wounded and increasingly […]

Myanmar junta enforces military service law following battlefield losses

YANGON, Myanmar, Feb 10, 2024 (AFP) – Myanmar’s junta is enforcing a law allowing the military to summon all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 to serve for at least two years, it said on Saturday, as it struggles to crush opposition to its 2021 coup. The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the military takeover in February of that year, which ended a ten-year experiment with democracy and sparked mass protests […]

Myanmar ethnic minority fighters seize town from military

BANGKOK (AFP) – Ethnic minority fighters battling Myanmar’s junta said Saturday they seized a trading hub in Shan state, days after China said it had mediated a temporary ceasefire. Clashes have raged across Myanmar’s northern Shan state since the Arakan Army (AA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) launched a joint offensive late October. The three allied groups — known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance — say […]

Myanmar junta arrests two more journalists: outlet

YANGON, Myanmar, Dec 13, 2023 (AFP) – Myanmar junta authorities have arrested two journalists in night raids, their outlet said on Wednesday, as the military cracks down on independent media. Since toppling Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in 2021, the military has waged a sweeping and bloody campaign against dissent, and at least 170 journalists have since been arrested, according to the United Nations. Local outlet Dawei Watch said two of its employees were arrested […]

Myanmar ethnic minority fighters clash with military on major trade route

  YANGON, Myanmar, Dec 1, 2023 (AFP) – Ethnic minority fighters clashed with Myanmar’s military on a major trade route to Thailand on Friday, blocking traffic and sending people fleeing, residents and local media said. Fighters from the Karen National Union (KNU) fought with the military at dawn in the town of Kawkareik in eastern Karen state, according to local media reports. The town sits on the Asia Highway that links the trade hub of […]

Over 280,000 displaced in expanding Myanmar clashes: UN

UNITED NATIONS, United States, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – More than 286,000 people in Myanmar have been displaced so far by recent fighting between the junta and ethnic groups, the UN said Wednesday, describing it as the biggest escalation since the 2021 coup. “Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that intense fighting between ethnic armed organizations and the Myanmar Armed Forces continues and has expanded into more areas, including densely populated urban centres,” said Farhan Haq, […]

Myanmar military shells Rakhine town seized by ethnic minority fighters

YANGON, Nov 16, 2023 (AFP) – Myanmar’s military shelled a town in western Rakhine state and used helicopters to attack fighters from an ethnic minority there on Thursday, residents and local media said. Arakan Army (AA) fighters have launched attacks on security forces across Rakhine this week, opening another front as the military battles opponents in the north and east. AA fighters had taken “complete control” of the town of Pauktaw, 25 kilometres (16 miles) […]

Myanmar ethnic armed group attacks junta in west: local media

YANGON, Myanmar, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – A Myanmar ethnic armed group has launched attacks on security force outposts in the west of the country, local media reported Monday, as the junta struggles to beat back fighting in the north. Arakan Army (AA) fighters later seized border guard bases near Rathedaung in western Rakhine state, local media cited an AA spokesman as saying. The AA has for years fought a war for the autonomy of […]

Myanmar military will hit back at ethnic armed groups’ offensive: junta chief

YANGON, Myanmar, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Myanmar’s junta chief said the military will strike back at ethnic armed groups waging an offensive in the north of the country, seizing towns and blocking trade routes to China, state media reported Friday. Fighting has raged for a week across a wide swathe of Shan state in what analysts say is the biggest military challenge to the junta since it seized power in 2021. The Myanmar National […]

Myanmar junta cuts six years from Suu Kyi’s 33-year jail term

YANGON, Aug 1, 2023 (AFP) – Myanmar reduced ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s 33-year prison sentence by six years in a partial pardon on Tuesday, as the junta struggles to quell bloody resistance to its rule. The country has been ravaged by violence in the two years since Suu Kyi was deposed in a coup and hit with 19 criminal cases ranging from corruption to breaching Covid-19 rules. There have been concerns for […]

Myanmar junta extends state of emergency, delaying polls

YANGON, July 31, 2023 (AFP) – Myanmar’s junta announced a six-month extension to a state of emergency Monday, signalling a delay to elections they had pledged to hold by August. The Southeast Asian nation has been ravaged by deadly violence since a coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government more than two years ago, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent. Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured as the junta battles a clutch of […]

Villagers say 14 killed as Myanmar violence flares

BANGKOK, July 24, 2023 (AFP) – Fighting between the Myanmar army and anti-junta rebels has flared in recent days, with locals in one village saying Saturday that more than a dozen people were killed in a single raid. Deadly violence has engulfed Myanmar since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in February 2021 and unleashed a bloody crackdown on dissent that has left thousands dead. The junta has been battling anti-coup “People’s […]