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Myanmar junta troops have moved back into a vital border town they were ousted from by an alliance of ethnic rebels and anti-junta fighters this month, military sources told AFP Tuesday.
The Karen National Union (KNU) and “People’s Defence Force” fighters ousted around 200 military soldiers from their positions in the lucrative trade hub of Myawaddy around April 10, in a major blow to the junta. The troops withdrew to a bridge that connects Myawaddy to Thailand’s Mae Sot town following the clashes, which sent thousands fleeing Myanmar. On Tuesday “some of our troops arrived at the 275 military command,” junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told AFP, referring to the previously vacated military base in Myawaddy. He said the military still did not have “complete control” of Myawaddy and did not say if there had been fighting in the town on Tuesday. He said there had been “casualties from both sides in previous fighting,” without giving further details. AFP has asked a KNU spokesperson for comment. A Myawaddy resident said that the town appeared quiet on Tuesday. Another military source, who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media, told AFP troops had retaken the 275 base on Tuesday. The military has carried out airstrikes around Myawaddy in recent days, according to residents, and has sent reinforcements towards the town. Fighting was ongoing around the town of Kawkareik, which sits on the route to Myawaddy, according to Zaw Min Tun. The military now controls the town itself, he said. The Karen State Border Guard Force, a local military-aligned militia that controls much of Myawaddy, announced this year that it would no longer take orders from the junta. It is not clear what role it played in the recent fighting around Myawaddy. AFP was unable to reach the group for comment. The conflict in Myanmar sparked by the military’s 2021 coup regularly sends people fleeing across the 2,400-kilometre (1,490-mile) border with Thailand. Thailand’s foreign minister visited Mae Sot on Tuesday and called for an end to the clashes. The junta came to power in the February 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, ending an experiment with democracy and plunging the Southeast Asian nation into turmoil. The putsch sparked renewed conflict with ethnic rebel groups and birthed dozens of newer “People’s Defence Forces” that analysts say have surprised the military with their effectiveness. The fighting has displaced more than 2.5 million people, according to the United Nations. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Myanmar’s military junta moved Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s former de facto leader, from Naypyidaw Prison to house arrest on Tuesday, Yangon-based Eleven Media reported.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who is now 78, was believed to have been in solitary confinement at the prison in the capital. She was arrested shortly after the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup d’etat that removed her National League for Democracy, or NLD, from power. She was eventually sentenced by the junta to 33 years on 19 charges – later reduced to 27 years. For much of 2023, Suu Kyi’s whereabouts were unknown and her legal team was unable to meet with her at the prison. The junta has kept her out of view since her arrest – likely a reflection of her persistent popularity. Eleven Media reported that she was transferred under tight security in the capital. The outlet also said that former President Win Myint was moved to house arrest from Taungoo Prison in central Myanmar’s Bago region. A half dozen cars went into Naypyidaw Prison on Tuesday – four of them with security forces and two other cars carrying junta senior officials, according to NLD Central Working Committee member Kyaw Htwe, citing his own sources. “They brought Auntie with them,” he told Radio Free Asia, referring to Suu Kyi. “She had to leave all her belongings behind, and it is still unknown where she was taken.” Junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun confirmed the transfers to Voice of America’s Burmese service, saying that Suu Kyi and Win Myint were moved to relieve them from the brutal daytime heat during the hot season, when temperatures in Naypyidaw have soared above 40 degrees Celsius (102 F). He didn’t mention their new location or give any other reasons for the transfer. RFA was unable to reach Zaw Min Tun on Tuesday. Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, told RFA that he was worried about his mother’s health because of the current high temperatures. Sources close to Win Myint’s family told RFA they hadn’t received any information about his transfer. Recent Chinese delegation “To me, it’s not because of hot weather, but because of political heat and the current crisis,” political commentator Than Soe Naing said. China’s ambassador to Myanmar in Yangon, Chen Hai, recently traveled to Myanmar to meet with former junta chief Than Shwe and other leaders of his military regime, which ruled from 1992 to 2011. There were some reports that the ambassador also met with Suu Kyi. However, the Chinese embassy in Yangon didn’t make any statement about such a meeting and RFA was unable to verify the reports. “The military council doesn’t pay much attention to international pressure,” said Thike Tun Oo, a member of the leading committee of the Political Prisoners Network-Myanmar. “Instead, they fear China more,” he said. “It can be assumed that this happened as a consequence of the recent meetings between senior Chinese officials and the military council.” The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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More than 1,000 residents on Myanmar’s border have fled to neighbouring Thailand since Wednesday morning amid escalating armed clashes and junta airstrikes near the important trade town of Myawaddy.
Airstrikes were conducted all of Tuesday night, and one jet fighter dropped at least eight bombs in an hour early Wednesday morning, a woman in Myawaddy said on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “The explosions were louder than before in the town,” she said. One man in Myawaddy said normally only about 100 people use Friendship Bridge No. 1 between Myawaddy and the Thai border city of Mae Sot in one day. “But this morning, there were more than 1,000 people,” he said, declining to be named for security reasons. “Of course, they are worried about the battle. So, all are fleeing to their relatives in Mae Sot.” A Myanmar citizen who fled to Mae Sot said junta helicopters hovered over the crammed bridge as people streamed across the border while bombs exploded nearby. “Smoke was seen in the sky,” he said. “All the people ran into Mae Sot. A huge crowd could be seen at the border bridge.” Thailand’s army has increased security in Mae Sot, according to Myanmar nationals living there. Thai military vehicles and soldiers observing the border were seen under Friendship Bridge No. 1. Myawaddy’s trade zone The Karen Nation Union, or KNU, and allied guerrilla armies began their attack on junta troops in Myawaddy on Saturday. On Sunday, junta troops requested evacuation of over 600 soldiers and their families through Mae Sot, as well as administrative documents, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One flight left Mae Sot International Airport on Sunday night, but subsequent flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday were cancelled at the request of Myanmar’s military. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Myanmar’s junta have not released any information on how many boarded the flight. Karen National Union joint forces stormed the junta’s Infantry Battalion 275 – located two miles from Myawaddy – on Tuesday, but junta forces have put up a strong resistance, the Myawaddy man said. Junta airstrikes demolished some homes near a highway bus station close to Infantry Battalion 275, civilians living in Myawaddy said. Forces aligned with the junta have been patrolling Myawaddy’s downtown area, residents said. While most government offices have closed, the junta’s immigration office was issuing border passes on Wednesday to those who wanted to enter Thailand. The Karen National Union would become much more powerful if it captures Myawaddy and gains control of the area’s crucial border trade, according to Than Soe Naing, a political commentator. “It is about to capture the special trade zone,” he said. “If Myawaddy township is captured, the resistance forces and people in Myanmar could enjoy new opportunities for the resistance forces and civilians.” It was unable to contact KNU spokespersons Padho Saw Kale Sae and Padho Saw Taw Nee by telephone on Wednesday to ask about Wednesday’s fighting. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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