Burmese anti-coup fighters briefly seized several border outposts after junta-aligned militia defected and joined the rebels, sparking days of heavy clashes, state media reported yesterday.
Fighting has ravaged swathes of the country since the military’s 2021 putsch, with some established ethnic rebel groups training and fighting alongside newer People’s Defence Forces (PDF) against the junta.
Rugged Kayah state on the border with Thailand has become a resistance hot spot, hosting thousands of democracy protesters-turned-PDF fighters.
Photo: AP
Five border posts in the state guarded by Border Guard Force (BGF) troops had come under “massive attacks” from anti-coup fighters from June 13 to Monday last week, state media said.
Border Guard Forces are made up of former ethnic rebels now working with the military in exchange for local autonomy and lucrative business rights.
They are often deployed side by side with regular troops.
Communications with a BGF post in Pantain, southeast Kayah, were cut for several days, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
Fighters at the BGF post “had betrayed the state and the Tatmadaw [military] by launching a rebellion” and joining anti-coup fighters, the report said, without specifying how many had defected.
The defectors had taken weapons and ammunition with them, the report said.
Backed by air and artillery strikes, the military retook the post at Pantain on June 17, it added.
Another BGF post in Sukpaing was recaptured on Tuesday.
The military had suffered casualties in officers and other ranks, it said, without giving details.
Dozens of junta troops had defected, said the opposition National Unity Government, which is made up mostly of ousted lawmakers and is working to overturn the coup.
PDF groups have surprised the military with their effectiveness, analysts have said, and have dragged the military into a bloody quagmire.
In February, the junta said that it did not “fully control” more than one-third of the country’s townships.
Yesterday, a bridge on a highway linking commercial hub Yangon with the Thai border was mined and partially destroyed, local media reported.
A drone attack on soldiers and officials inspecting the damage killed two and injured dozens, said a military source who did not want to be named, as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Battling fierce opposition on the ground, experts have said the military is resorting to artillery strikes and air power.
On Tuesday, a military airstrike on a village in northern Sagaing region — another hotbed of resistance to junta rule — killed 10 civilians, locals and media reports said.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than