[REUTERS]
“More than 500 people have been killed by the military across Myanmar in protests against the coup, according to a monitoring group. As violence has escalated, about a dozen armed groups have condemned the junta as illegitimate and vowed to stand with the protesters.”
“In the southeastern Karen state, one of the strongest groups – the Karen National Union (KNU) – says it is responding to appeals for help from coup opponents by sending fighters to protect protesters. Its troops are attacking Myanmar army positions and cutting off supply routes, in what the group says is a response to encroachment on its territory. In the north, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has staged similar attacks.”
“On Tuesday, three other guerrilla forces, including the powerful Arakan Army in the western Rakhine state, vowed to join what they called the “spring revolution” if killings do not stop.”
“Civilian lawmakers, most of whom are in hiding, have announced plans to form a “national unity government” on April 1 – with key roles for ethnic leaders – and are holding online talks about joint resistance to the military junta.”
““If (the international community) fails to take action, of course unavoidable all-out civil war and more bloody days and more bloody weeks and more bloody months await ahead of us,” Dr Sasa told Reuters. “Having a federal army becomes a must and it’s the way we achieve democracy and freedom.””
“While many armed groups have long called for their incorporation into such a federal force, some said it remained difficult given that rival insurgents have often also fought each other.”
“Myanmar’s fractious borderlands have not known peace since the country’s independence from Britain in 1948. But ceasefires signed after the army began democratic reforms in 2011 brought a lull in fighting in some areas.”
“Leaders of two groups, the KNU and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), told Reuters that the military had destroyed that deal – known as the National Ceasefire Agreement – by launching attacks.”
“Anthony Davis, a security analyst with British-based Jane’s intelligence company, estimated the total strength of the ethnic armies at around 75,000, enough to stretch the 350,000-strong Myanmar army if it was forced to fight on multiple fronts.”
“On Saturday, Myanmar military fighter jets dropped bombs on territory held by the KNU in the ethnic Karen region, for the first time in more than 20 years, killing several people and sending thousands fleeing to Thailand.”
Read more: As ethnic armies unite against coup, war returns to Myanmar’s borderlands
Related: Explainer: Truce over as Myanmar’s Karen insurgents brace for battle with junta
2021-week16
