Dozens of junta forces surrender, captured, claim Myanmar rebels

As a concerted onslaught by insurgent groups fighting the junta gathers speed in multiple parts of the nation, a rebel organisation announced on Wednesday that dozens of personnel of the Myanmar security forces have either surrendered or been seized. Ten soldiers were detained and at least 28 police officers turned themselves in and surrendered to the Arakan Army (AA), according to the rebel group that is fighting for autonomy in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State. One of three insurgent organisations representing ethnic minorities that reportedly began a concerted onslaught against junta forces in late October. The administration in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, announced the imposition of a curfew after seeing military tanks there. The rebels have taken control of several towns and military installations, including those near the Chinese border. This is the junta’s strongest challenge since the military overthrew an elected government headed by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in 2021. Zaw Min Tun, a junta spokeswoman, declared on Tuesday that allegations of rebel forces “destroying the whole country” were “propaganda” and that they were accusing people of capturing military stations. “When they lost men, the enemy withdrew. We’re attempting to strategically mix little posters,” he stated. The spokesperson said fighting was going on in Shan, Rakhine and Kayah states. He did not comment on reports of junta forces surrendering. There have also been reports of fighting in northwest Chin State, when 43 soldiers from Myanmar entered the Indian state of Mizoram following a rebel raid, according to a Mizoram police official. According to an Indian security officer who wished to remain anonymous, the majority of the soldiers from Myanmar were flown by Indian forces to a different border crossing location and then returned to Myanmar authorities. The incapacity of the military-appointed president of Myanmar to quell the uprising by fighters whom the generals label as “terrorists” has left the nation on the verge of disintegration, he stated last week. For many years, the military has maintained that it is the only organisation capable of uniting Myanmar’s diverse population. Dismissing it, opponents of military control advocate for a federal, democratic structure. (With agency inputs)