Fighting erupted between junta forces and ethnic revolutionary organization the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) on Friday—the same day regime officials sat down for peace talks with the armed group and two of its allies—causing the talks to break off and sparking four days of clashes that continued into Monday.
The fighting began as the junta’s representative team was meeting with the Northern Brotherhood Alliance Squad, which comprises the MNDAA, Arakan Army (AA) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), with the involvement of Chinese government facilitators.
However, the meeting in Mongla, Shan State, ended without any settlement on June 2.
“The meeting was held due to pressure from China. The military wants temporary ceasefires with the three EAO groups [as it is busy fighting pro-democracy resistance forces in the Burmese heartland]. But the EAO groups already understand that the junta will never meet their demands and only wants to meet as a delay tactic. That is why the meeting was unsuccessful,” a political analyst told The Irrawaddy.
On the same morning that the two sides were meeting in Mongla, a clash broke out in Hseni Township when regime forces launched a raid on a temporary base of the MNDAA, said The Kokang News, the media wing of the ethnic rebel group.
To put pressure on groups that it is negotiating with, or to try to gain control of more territory, the military has long used the tactic of launching offensives against ethnic armed groups even as it meets with them to discuss ceasefires, the political analyst said.
On Saturday and Sunday, further firefights erupted in Kokang district as regime forces raided the MNDAA’s areas. In the clashes, an MNDAA fighter was killed and another injured, The Kokang News reported.
At 4 a.m. on Monday, heavy clashes broke out in Lashio, the biggest town in northern Shan State, when the MNDAA and People’s Defense Force (PDF) reportedly launched counterattacks targeting a military battalion, police station and another military unit in the town, according to local ethnic Shan media.
The junta also used aircraft to attack resistance forces, residents told Shan media.
However, details of damage and casualties were unknown for either side.
The Myanmar junta faces near-daily attacks from PDFs and many ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) nationwide.
Facing a shortage of soldiers due to the daily clashes, the Myanmar junta is now relying on its aircraft and artillery units to attack both resistance and civilian targets.
