Myanmar junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun has attempted to sow ethnic discord between Shan, Ta’ang and Kokang communities in northern Shan State.
He accused the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) of fighting to occupy Shan territory.
Zaw Min Tun said the two groups, which as part of the Brotherhood Alliance that launched Operation 1027 on October 27, have occupied Shan homes and other property instead of attacking junta targets.
In August Zaw Min Tun tried to stoke ethnic tensions by telling a press conference that he was surprised resistance groups were killing ethnically Bamar soldiers with weapons supplied by the Kachin Independence Army.
He referred to “Bamar people killing each other” in Bamar-majority Sagaing and Magwe regions.
The regime has lost around 160 positions in northern Shan State since October 27.
Territorial clashes between the TNLA and the Restoration Council of Shan State have increased tensions between the Ta’ang, also known as Palaung, and Shan communities.
The junta media has claimed the MNDAA is staying at the rear and asking ethnically Bamar People’s Defense Forces to carry out the fighting in northern Shan State.
Inciting racial and religious hatred is a strategy that successive military regimes have used to counter insurgencies in Myanmar.
