Myanmar rebels say dozens of junta forces surrender, captured
A junta spokesperson, Zaw Min Tun, on Tuesday, accused the rebel groups of “destroying the whole country” and said reports of captured military posts were “propaganda”.
“The enemies retreated after they lost soldiers. We are trying to combine small posts strategically,” he said.
The spokesperson said fighting was going on in Shan, Rakhine and Kayah states. He did not comment on reports of junta forces surrendering.
Fighting has also been reported in Chin State in the northwest, where 43 Myanmar soldiers crossed into the Indian state of Mizoram after a rebel attack, a police official in Mizoram said.
Most of the Myanmar soldiers were flown by Indian forces to another point on the border and handed back to Myanmar authorities, said an Indian security official who declined to be identified.
Myanmar’s military-appointed president last week said the country was at risk of breaking apart because of an ineffective response to the rebellion by fighters the generals denounce as “terrorists”.
The military has for decades said it is the only institution capable of holding diverse Myanmar together. Critics of military rule dismiss that and call instead for a democratic, federal system.
Source: CNA