Myanmar rebels capture provincial town as anti-junta offensive widens
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[November 07, 2023]
(Reuters) - Opposition troops have captured a town in
central Myanmar that is a district administrative headquarters after
beating back the military, the shadow government and local media said on
Tuesday.
The shadow National Unity Government (NUG) hailed it as a key victory,
although an analyst cautioned that the fighters may struggle to hold
Kawlin, which has a population of around 25,000.
Myanmar's military is battling a surge in violence as forces opposed to
it, including ethnic minority armies, have launched fresh attacks over
two years after the generals unseated an democratically elected
government in a 2021 coup.
Opposition troops attacked junta soldiers in Kawlin last week, before
overpowering them on Monday and taking over the town, the NUG said.
Its defense ministry posted a video on social media of soldiers raising
the flag of resistance groups aligned with the shadow government.
"A district level town is under our control now," NUG prime minister
Mahn Winn Khaing Thann said on social media platform X. "What a
groundbreaking victory!"
A junta spokesman did not respond to calls from Reuters.
The town fell after a small group of junta soldiers surrendered
following fierce fighting, local media outlet Myanmar Now said, quoting
a rebel fighter.
However, Richard Horsey, senior adviser for Myanmar at the non-profit
International Crisis Group, said the resistance might find it difficult
to maintain control over Kawlin.
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"It's not that difficult to surge in and overrun a provincial town
close to the mountains. But it will be difficult to hold it," he
told Reuters.
A 28-year-old Kawlin resident, who declined to be named because of
security concerns, said they left the town over the weekend after
fierce fighting erupted between the rebels and junta soldiers backed
by air support.
"Our neighbor's house was hit. There was no way to stay there
safely," the resident said. "So almost everyone has left."
Resistance troops have taken over Kawlin's police station, district
administrative office, bank and other key establishments, the NUG
said.
The NUG, comprised of remnants of the administration of deposed
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others, has been engaging with
democratic nations, including the United States, to rally support
for its fight against the powerful military.
In a separate offensive, NUG said its troops and those of its allies
had taken over another town in Sagaing division, where Kawlin is
also located, in a district bordering India.
Besides the NUG, an alliance of ethnic minority armies late last
month launched a series of surprise coordinated attacks on junta
targets along areas abutting China.
Rights groups and U.N. experts have accused the military of
committing atrocities against civilians in its efforts to crush the
resistance. The junta says it is fighting "terrorists" and has
ignored international calls to cease hostilities.
(Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by
Alison Williams)
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