Irrawaddy-Nov 2
Myanmar’s military has lost control of a strategic northern town on the Chinese border following days of clashes with three ethnic armed groups, a junta spokesman said. Fighting has raged since Friday across a swathe of Myanmar’s northern Shan state—where a billion-dollar rail link is planned as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road global infrastructure project.The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) say they have seized several military posts and key roads linking Myanmar with China, its biggest trade partner. “Government, administrative organizations and security organizations are no longer present” in Chin Shwe Haw town, which borders China’s Yunnan province, Zaw Min Tun said in a statement late Wednesday. Clashes have taken place at 10 locations across Shan State over the past six days, he said, without giving details on casualties.He accused the three armed groups of “blowing up power stations, blowing up bridges, destroying transportation routes”, without giving details. China called on Thursday for an “immediate” ceasefire. More than a quarter of Myanmar’s US$1.8 billion border trade with China passed through Chin Shwe Haw between April and September, junta-controlled media reported in September, citing the Commerce Ministry. Beijing maintains ties with some ethnic armed groups along its border with Myanmar, home to ethnic Chinese communities who use Chinese SIM cards and currency.It has previously denied reports it has supplied the armed groups with weapons. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/myanmar-military-says-lost-control-of-strategic-border-town.html
