Myanmar junta soldiers on Tuesday raided the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) office in Myawaddy, Karen State, on the Thai border.
Four ABSDF members were detained and the reason for their detention remains unclear, said an ABSDF official.
According to the Karen Information Center media group, the liaison office was raided at around 5pm and four staff were taken to the junta commander’s office in the town.
On the 33rd anniversary of its founding on Oct. 31, the ABSDF stated that it would join hands with anti-regime forces to fight the military dictatorship.
Founded by student exiles after the pro-democracy uprising in 1988, the group signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015 with then President Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government.
The group was criticized after an ABSDF representative attended an event to mark the sixth anniversary of the signing of the NCA held by the junta in Naypyitaw on Oct. 15.
The group’s leadership has since tried to distance itself from the event, saying the supposed representative at the meeting did not represent them.
The ABSDF is based in territory controlled by the Karen National Union in Karen State with some bases in areas held by the Kachin Independence Army in Kachin State.
You may also like these stories:
Sun Not Shining on Myanmar Junta’s Solar Power Projects
Resistance Attacks Leave Junta Troops Dead Across Myanmar
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Breaching COVID-19 Restrictions
