Myanmar rebel alliance agrees to ceasefire with military junta

According to some of the parties involved, a rebel group in northern Myanmar has reached a truce with the governing military during discussions mediated by China. This comes after months of planning an attack that threatened to erode the junta’s hold on power. Since late October, the military, which deposed an elected government in 2021, has been engaged in combat with a coalition of forces from ethnic minorities seeking to oust it from control of their territories. There has been a lot of bloodshed, especially along China’s northern border. The united offensive, supported by a parallel pro-democracy, civilian-led administration, has presented the junta with its greatest military test since the coup and alarmed China with the prospect of interruptions to border trade and an inflow of refugees. A leader of one of the rebel groups, TNLA, told Reuters on Friday that the “Three Brotherhood Alliance” and the military agreed to a “cease fire without advancing further”. He declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. “From the (alliance) side, the agreement is to refrain from offensive attacks on enemy camps or towns. From the military side, the agreement is not to engage in attacks through airstrikes, bombardment, or heavy weapons,” he said. Conflict has raged in Myanmar’s northern Shan state since October, when the alliance of ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the junta. The alliance has seized several towns and border hubs vital for trade with China. “With the help of China’s facilitation, there was a meeting in (the southern Chinese city) Kunming. We have reached a ceasefire agreement,” junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told AFP. Tar Bhone Kyaw of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) – one member of the alliance – said they had “agreed to reopen border trade” with China. China also announced the ceasefire Friday. China’s foreign ministry said on Friday peace talks were held in the Chinese city of Kunming on Jan 10-11, where “the two sides agreed to immediately cease fire and stop the war.” Both parties also pledged not to harm residents at the Chinese border, said foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. “China hopes that all parties concerned in Myanmar will earnestly implement the ceasefire agreement already reached and exercise maximum restraint,” she said. Beijing had also said last month the parties had agreed on a temporary ceasefire and to maintain dialogue. But fighting continued in northern Shan State and other regions in the country, with the rebels taking control of a key commercial town, Laukkai, on the Chinese border last week. More than 300,000 people have been displaced due to the recent violence, and more than 2 million overall since the coup, according to the United Nations. The conflict has also seen Myanmar police and military personnel surrender to rebel groups or flee across borders into India. A spokesperson for Myanmar’s junta did not respond to a request for comment. The two other groups in the rebel alliance, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA), did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the talks.