In a rebel-held Myanmar town, fragile unity pushes junta to the brink

In a rebel-held Myanmar town, fragile unity pushes junta to the brink

Interpretation OF MYAWADDY

Last October, three rebel groups, including the powerful Arakan Army ( AA ), led Operation 1027, a major offensive that saw the resistance take wide swathes of military-controlled areas along the border with China.  

” After 1027, we saw the AA in Arakan starting to push. When the AA subsided, we made the decision to force, according to KNU’s Nadah Htoo, who described how various rebel groups were repeatedly attacking the defense from various positions over a number of different regions.

The coup “is fighting the war on too many flanks”, said Lalita Hanwong, an associate professor at Thailand’s Kasetsart University.

The cities that the opposition forces seized have never been reclaimed, according to Operation 1027’s founder. “

Nadah Htoo, the leader of the KNU-led forces, encircled the village and forced the town’s junta management to the point of collapse during the conflict.

The methods he described could not be independently verified by Reuters. The KNU’s military wing has recently launched crucial assaults on coup positions.

Nadah Htoo, a coup soldier who is still stranded close to a gate between Myawaddy and Thailand, told Reuters,” They have the option of giving themselves to the Thais or the KNU.”  

The junta is expected to attempt to reclaim Myawaddy in the upcoming weeks, according to the captain and Bangkok-based security scientist Anthony Davis.

The KNU has now repelled some military reinforcements entering the town, and Nadah Htoo, the political head of the KNU, said it would only be able to control Myawaddy once the military operation had finished.

According to Davis, the junta wants to retake control of Myawaddy, a crucial investing hub and its principal gateway to Southeast Asia.

Around 14 per share of Myanmar’s full business via property borders between April 2023 and March 2024- numbering about US$ 1. 15 billion- went through Myawaddy, according to state data.

The UN and the British authorities have accused senior KNA frontrunners of using country close to Myawaddy to run scams and illegitimate casinos in recent years.  

Reuters was unable to find out how the frontier command control control forces have used the customs revenue collected at their borders. The ISP think-tank said business at some intersections was suspended.