A view of a relief camp housing people fleeing Myanmar in the border village of Zokhawthar, Champhai district, in the northeastern state of Mizoram, India, November 15, 2023. Portal/Chanchinmawia LICENSE
Nov 16 (Portal) – Myanmar’s junta has reported “severe abuses” by insurgents and ordered government personnel to prepare for emergencies, an official said on Thursday, as media reported a call for people with military experience to prepare for service .
Myanmar’s military has been battling ethnic minorities and other insurgencies for decades, but a coup in 2021 has led to unprecedented coordination between anti-military forces, posing its biggest challenge to the army in years.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the military was facing “severe attacks from significant numbers of armed rebel soldiers” in Shan state in the northeast, Kayah state in the east and Rakhine state in the west.
Zaw Min Tun said some military positions had been evacuated and the insurgents had used drones to drop hundreds of bombs on military posts.
“We are taking urgent measures to effectively protect ourselves from drone bomb attacks,” the junta spokesman said late Wednesday.
In the capital Naypyitaw, government workers have been ordered to form units to respond to “emergencies,” said Tin Maung Swe, secretary of the Naypyitaw Council.
He denied the order was a response to the security situation and said the capital was calm.
“This is the plan to help in emergencies, especially natural disasters,” Tin Maung Swe told Portal.
A parallel government formed by pro-democracy politicians to oppose the military and allied with some insurgent factions has launched a “Road to Naypyitaw” campaign ostensibly aimed at seizing control of the capital.
Separately, the military’s State Administrative Council (SAC) said in an order on Wednesday that all individuals with basic military training should be ready to serve, Khit Thit media reported.
Portal could not independently verify the document.
UN-CARE
Myanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 coup when the military toppled a government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, ending a decade of tentative democratic reforms.
The military ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for 50 years after seizing power in 1962, insisting it was the only institution capable of holding the diverse country together.
The 2021 coup dashed hopes for reform and unleashed a wave of opposition that united pro-democracy activists in cities and towns with ethnic minority forces fighting for self-determination in the hinterlands.
Clashes have sent refugees to all of Myanmar’s neighbors, including thousands who have fled to India in recent days amid fighting in Chin state in the northwest.
In response to the coup and crackdown on protests, Western governments have reimposed sanctions on Myanmar’s junta and called for the release of Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy politicians and activists.
Myanmar’s Southeast Asian neighbors have tried to promote a peace process, but the generals have largely ignored their efforts.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern about the “expanding conflict in Myanmar” and called on all parties to protect civilians, a spokesman said.
“The number of displaced people in Myanmar now exceeds two million,” the spokesman said.
The Arakan Army (AA) rebel group fighting for autonomy in Rakhine state said on Wednesday that dozens of police and military personnel had surrendered or been captured as its forces advanced.
The junta spokesman condemned the group, saying it would “destroy” Rakhine state.
In addition, a video posted on social media by anti-military forces in Kayah state and confirmed by Portal showed wounded junta troops surrendering to insurgents who offered medical assistance.
“We are ready to shoot you now, but we will not do that. If you raise the white flag and walk out, nothing will happen to you,” said a fighter who identified himself as the deputy commander of the Karenni rebel group. The National Defense Force can be heard telling junta soldiers.
Reporting by Portal staff; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Edited by Robert Birsel
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