On Saturday, reports emerged from residents in Myanmar’s northwestern town of Mindat, claiming that the army has been fighting with a new local anti-coup militia. At least 5 civilians have been killed and several thousand more displaced as a result of the heavy fighting.
According to a Reuters source, militants of the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) were forced to retreat alongside civilians as a result of artillery bombardments and helicopter attacks by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s Army). One Mindat resident said of the situation; “we are running for our lives”.
The Chinland Defense Force was formed in reaction to the military coup in February, and appears to have formed within the past month (source: facebook.com/chinlanddefenseforce).
Since Thursday, the military junta imposed martial law in Mindat and subsequently began a series of targeted attacks on ‘armed terrorists’. The military-controlled Myawaddy television described the estimated 1,000 rebels that attacked members of security forces with small arms and homemade grenades as 'unscrupulous people’.
The United States has been outwardly critical of the junta. In a statement on Monday, the U.S. embassy in Burma condemned the army’s use of “weapons of war against civilians”, calling this week’s events in Mindat “a further demonstration of the depths the regime will sink to to hold on to power.” The embassy further urged the military to end violence against civilians.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department’s website, new sanctions were imposed on Myanmar on Monday, targeting the State Administrative Council and 16 individuals, including government officials and military officers.
The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the coup in February, when the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was deposed by the Tatmadaw which claimed to be responding to election fraud.
According to the Thailand-based advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 788 people have been killed by security forces during crackdowns on anti-military junta protestors. These figures have been disputed by the military.
Source: Reuters