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YANGON: Ten of Myanmar’s main rebel groups supported the country’s anti-coup movement on Saturday (April 3), stoking fears that a broader conflict could break out in a country long plagued by fighting between the military and ethnic armies.
Myanmar has been in crisis since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power on February 1, sparking an uprising that the junta has tried to quell with deadly repressions.
According to a local watchdog group, more than 550 people have died in the anti-coup riots, bloodshed that has angered some of Myanmar’s roughly 20 ethnic groups and their militias, who control large areas of territory mainly in the border regions.
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On Saturday, 10 of these rebel groups met virtually to discuss the situation and condemned the junta’s use of live ammunition against protesters.
“The leaders of the military council must be held accountable,” said General Yawd Serk, leader of the rebel group of the Shan State Restoration Council.
Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar continue to come out in droves even as military repression intensifies. (Photo: AFP / STR)
Last week, the junta declared a month-long ceasefire with armed ethnic groups, although exceptions could be made if “the government’s security and administrative machinery is invaded.”
The announcement did not include stopping the lethal force against the anti-coup demonstrations.
But Yawd Serk said the ceasefire required security forces to stop “all violent actions,” including against protesters.
The 10 rebel groups that met online are signatories to a nationwide ceasefire agreement that was negotiated by the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which attempted to negotiate an end to decades of armed struggle by ethnic militias for a greater autonomy.
More than 550 people have died in Myanmar’s anti-coup riots, according to a local watchdog group. (Photo: AFP / STR)
But mistrust runs deep towards Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, and Yawd Serk said the 10 signatories to the national ceasefire would “review” the agreement during their meeting.
“I would like to say that the (10 groups) strongly support the people who are … demanding an end to the dictatorship,” he said.
Last week, a UN special envoy in Myanmar warned the Security Council of the risk of civil war and an impending “bloodbath.”
“NO REASON FOR CONFLICT”
The meeting of the rebel groups comes a week after one of them, the Karen National Union (KNU), seized a military base in the eastern state of Karen, killing 10 army officers. The junta retaliated with air strikes.
The KNU has openly opposed the military junta and said it is protecting hundreds of anti-coup activists.
On Saturday, the group condemned the use of “excessive force by the military in engaging in non-stop bombings and airstrikes” from March 27 to 30, which have “caused the death of many people, including children.”
READ: Myanmar’s junta criticized for deaths of children amid anti-coup protests
READ: As ethnic armies unite against the coup, war returns to Myanmar’s border areas
“The airstrikes have also caused a further displacement of more than 12,000 people,” he said.
Board spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the military has only targeted KNU’s Fifth Brigade, leading to the seizure of the military base.
“We had an air strike only that day,” he told AFP.
“We have signed a national ceasefire agreement … If they follow the NCA, there is no reason for a conflict to occur.”
Local media and Karen human rights groups have reported multiple bombings and airstrikes across the state in recent days.
INFORMATION BLACKOUT
With the board cutting back on Wi-Fi services, mobile data, and imposing a nightly internet blackout that has lasted for nearly 50 days, the flow of information in the country has effectively been limited.
Arrest warrants were also issued for 40 popular actors, models and social media influencers, most of whom are in hiding, and the authorities accused them of spreading information that could cause riots in the armed forces.
Thousands of people across the country continued to come out to protest, and at least two cities saw security forces violently repressed before noon.
In eastern Mon state, a man was shot in the stomach and died on the way to hospital, while a rescue worker in central Monywa told AFP that “two were shot in the head” when confronting authorities. .
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Images of the crackdown in Monywa verified by AFP show protesters struggling to carry a young man bleeding from the head to safety as gunshots are heard in the background.
Meanwhile, state media said Saturday night that a police officer was found dead with his throat slit on the streets of Mandalay, an act of “dishonest people.”
At least two cities in Myanmar saw security forces respond violently to protests before noon on April 3, 2021 (Photo: AFP / Handout).
CNN, to which she was granted access by the board, arrived this week with correspondent Clarissa Ward, who was transported by Yangon in a military convoy.
On Friday, he spoke with two sisters, Shine Ya Da Na Pyo and Nay Zar Chi Shine, who were later detained along with another relative.
Local media reported that they had waved three fingers, a symbol of opposition to the junta, while speaking with Ward.
“We do not know where they have been detained,” said a relative of the sisters who did not want to be identified.
“Our family is doing everything possible for his release.”
CNN did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.
