Fighting has intensified in eight of Myanmar’s states and regions as the military renews attempts to seize control of territory from ethnic armies and People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries, anti-junta groups told RFA.
They reported an upswing in fighting in Shan, Kachin, Kayin and Mon states, and Sagaing, Bago, Magway and Tanintharyi regions.
One political analyst told RFA the military is trying to assert itself after extending a state of emergency for a fourth time, citing ongoing unrest.
But Than Soe Naing said the move will encourage pro-democracy groups to step up efforts to overthrow the junta and civilians will be caught in the crossfire.
“The movement of establishing a federal democratic state and abolishing the military dictatorship has reached its final stage,” he said.
“The final stage means fighting decisive battles to overthrow the [junta] forces. Now that we are in this situation, it can be said that the fire of war in the country is burning and the entire population will have to go through a period of many troubles.”
In Shan state, around 70 junta troops bombarded a Shan State Progressive Party camp in Laihka township on Friday and Saturday.
On Sunday, the two sides clashed in the township.
Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) spokesperson Maj. Sai Phone Han told RFA that the fighting lasted until noon on Monday and the situation remained very tense as the junta had ordered ethnic Shan forces to withdraw from 10 camps but the SSPP/SSA refused.
“We have thousands of troops. There are also [many] junta troops,” he said. “The situation will get worse the longer the battle rages.”
In Sagaing region, a PDF information officer who declined to be named for security reasons told RFA that fighting between junta troops and the armed resistance in Kalewala township had intensified on Saturday.
“We are still in a tense battle right now,” he said, adding that both sides had suffered casualties but the exact figures aren’t yet known.
The information officer said more than 300 residents of villages in Kalewa had fled the fighting.
Karen National Union (KNU) officials say there is currently fierce fighting between its troops and junta forces in Kayin and Mon states and Bago and Tanintharyi regions.
Group spokesperson Padoh Saw Kler Say said thousands of junta troops are attacking seven KNU-controlled areas.
“There are about 109 battalions. We estimate the manpower to be 10,000 — maybe more,” he said.
Fighting intensifies in Kachin’s jade mining region
In Kachin state, fighting between the junta and the Kachin Independence Army saw an uptick in June.
Locals told RFA fighting was particularly fierce in the jade mining region around Hpakant township, with the junta carrying out airstrikes.
Kachin Independence Army spokesperson Col. Naw Bu, said troops have sent in around 1,000 soldiers in two columns in an attempt to seize control of the area around the KIA headquarters in Lai Zar.
In northern Shan state, there has been fighting in the past few days between junta troops and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army.
Clashes between the junta army and Karenni Army joint forces with Karenni National Defense Force has intensified in Loikaw and Mese in Kayah state and Bawlakhe, Pinlaung and Pekon townships in southern Shan state.
RFA called the junta’s deputy information officer Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun to ask about the increase in fighting but nobody answered.
At a meeting of the National Defense and Security Council on July 31 junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said Sagaing, Magway, Bago and Tanintharyi regions and Kayin, Kayah, Chin and Mon states have been particularly hard hit by fighting, mine attacks and arson.
The junta extended emergency rule for another six months for “security measures” to address the widespread conflict.
More than 1.6 million civilians have fled their homes due to fighting since the February 2021 coup, according to figures released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) at the end of last month.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.