Bangkok: After junta-aligned militia defected and joined the rebels, there were days of intense fighting, according to state media on Thursday, which led to several border outposts being briefly seized by anti-coup fighters in Myanmar.
Since the military's coup in 2021, fighting has wracked large portions of the nation. Some long-standing ethnic rebel organisations have trained with and fought alongside more recent People's Defence Forces against the junta.
The hardy Kayah state, which borders Thailand, has attracted thousands of former democracy protesters who are now fighting for the PDF. According to state media, anti-coup fighters had launched "massive attacks" against five border posts in the state guarded by Border Guard Force (BGF) personnel between June 13 and June 19.
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Former ethnic rebels who are now serving in the military in exchange for local autonomy and lucrative business rights make up the Border Guard Forces. They are frequently deployed alongside regular troops.
According to the government-backed Global New Light of Myanmar, communication with a BGF post in Pantain, southeast Kayah, was cut off for several days. The report did not say how many fighters at the BGF post "had betrayed the State and the Tatmadaw [military] by launching a rebellion" and joining anti-coup fighters.
According to the report, the defectors brought weapons and ammunition with them. The military had since retaken the post at Pantain on June 17 with the aid of air and artillery strikes, it continued.
On June 27, another BGF post in Sukpaing was taken back. Without providing further details, it claimed that the military had suffered casualties among officers and other ranks.
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According to the opposition National Unity Government, which is working to overthrow the coup and is primarily composed of expelled lawmakers, dozens of junta troops had defected. According to analysts, PDF groups have drawn the military into a bloody quagmire and surprised the military with their effectiveness. The junta acknowledged in February that it did not "fully control" more than a third of the townships in the nation. The junta's information team reported that on Thursday, 20 metres of a bridge on a highway connecting Yangon's commercial centre with the Thai border was mined and destroyed.
Two civilians were killed and ten were injured in a drone attack on soldiers and officials who were surveying the damage, along with some security personnel, it continued.
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An officer with the ethnically motivated Karen National Liberation Army claimed that the bridge had been mined by both PDF fighters and KNLA soldiers. The KNLA, which has had ongoing disputes with the military, has been a vocal opponent of the coup and has offered refuge to those trying to topple the junta.
According to experts, the military is using air power and artillery strikes to combat fierce resistance on the ground.
Ten civilians were reportedly killed on Tuesday in a military airstrike on a village in the northern Sagaing region, another hub of anti-junta resistance.