Bangkok, Aug 5 (EFE).- A powerful Myanmar guerrilla said Monday it had taken complete control of the Lashio military base, headquarters of the military junta in the northeast of the country, in one of the biggest rebel forces victories since the 2021 coup.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army said it completely took over the base Sunday, along with other allied forces against the junta, the northeast region headquarters. It also captured three senior army commanders, including a major general, a milestone for the rebels.
The prisoners are Gen. Soe Tint, Brigade Chief Thant Htin Soe and Brigade Chief Myo Min Htwe, captured alive and with whom the military junta has acknowledged losing contact since Saturday.
According to the statement, on the morning of Aug. 3, the entire military headquarters of the Northeast Region, called Ramakha and based in Lashio, in conflict-ridden Shan State, was attacked and captured by joint rebel forces.
During the battle, both sides fought and thousands of people, including members of the Myanmar army and their families, surrendered, although the exact number is unknown.
The rebels, part of an alliance against the forces of the military junta, indicated on Jul. 25 they had taken control of the city of Lashio in that area, but had not yet managed to take the Myanmar army headquarters, located there.
The rebel group belongs to the so-called Brotherhood Alliance and launched an offensive in the Kokang region in October, which then spread to several parts of the country with the support of other anti-junta factions.
During this phase, the rebel alliance, also made up of the Arakan Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, seized several border towns with China and key to bilateral trade from the military.
Following Beijing’s mediation, in January, the Alliance and the junta reached a temporary ceasefire agreement, which the rebels ended on Jun. 25, accusing the military of violating the pact by bombing rebel-controlled areas.
The rebel alliance then said it was resuming the second phase of Operation 1027 with the aim of overthrowing the regime of coupmaker Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
The coup ended 10 years of democratic transition and opened a spiral of violence that has exacerbated the guerrilla war that the country has been experiencing for decades, with thousands of young people joining armed groups that fight the army. EFE
bkk-esj/lds