Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG) has urged a united political front among a patchwork of ethnic armies after a five month dry-season offensive resulted in unprecedented battlefield gains in the north, west and southeast of the country.
NUG Prime Minister Mann Winn Khaing Thann said public administration bodies have been established and approved for 174 townships with 38 now under the direct control and management of anti-regime forces.
“To ensure the effective implementation of policies, we must coordinate with relevant ministries and among them to address townships deviating from [NUG] government policies,” he said in a statement received April 4. “It’s imperative that we manage these situations closely.”
More than 20 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) have battled Myanmar’s military alongside the armed wing of the NUG – the People’s Defence Force (PDF) – since early 2021 when junta forces ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The NUG said recent fighting by the Arakan Army in western Rakhine had resulted in the capture of the Buthidaung Light Infantry Battalion 552 headquarters, the surrender of 100 soldiers and capture of thousands of other army personnel and their families.
It also said the Arakan Army had expanded operations in the Magway region bordering Rakhine into the Ngape and Ann townships where the Western Regional Military Headquarters is based and intercepted a convoy, resulting in four junta soldiers killed and eight wounded.
“We are witnessing the current decline of the Military Council”
Further fighting in the north also resulted in victories for the Kachin Independence Army which has claimed control of the last junta outpost along a 60km-stretch of road leading to the Chinese border with 63 military bases and outposts now under its belt.
In the southeast, near the Myawaddy-Mae Sot frontier with Thailand, the NUG said the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), PDF and the Bamar People’s Liberation Army had launched a united assault and captured Hpapun city in Kayin State.
Heavy fighting between the KNLA and junta forces erupted in mid-March amid military-launched air strikes but more than a hundred junta soldiers were forced to flee across the border where their weapons were confiscated by Thai authorities.
“We are witnessing the current decline of the Military Council. At this time, it is crucial for the people and revolutionary forces to stand united and participate enthusiastically,” Dawa Lashi La, the NUG acting president, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, The Irrawaddy is reporting the Chin Defense Force-Mindat in the west will resume military operations against the junta after a near two month break caused by internal disagreements over the establishment of a Chin State government.
One Western analyst who declined to be named, said rebels had encircled the ruling junta in the centre of the country and were expected to dig-in and consolidate positions before the monsoon arrives in late May or early June. The wet season has traditionally ground fighting to a halt.
“The military has suffered enormous losses, but the conflict should quieten down between June and October, but after that, towards the end of the year, EAOs and the PDF will be in a superior position when the wet season subsides and the fighting resumes,” he said.
The NUG added that the junta was currently holding 20,274 political prisoners who were enduring appalling conditions and were exposed to the systematic use of rape and sexual violence against women, children, and men as a weapon.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project almost 47,900 people have been killed in three years of civil war. About 2.3 million people have been internally displaced and some 95,600 people are considered refugees after fleeing across borders.
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