In recent days, thousands of people have arrived in Myanmar left homeless due to the ongoing fighting between the military junta that governs the country and some armed groups that oppose the regime. Since Friday, an alliance of three armed groups – the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army – has begun a coordinated attack to take control of some cities in Shan, a state in northeastern Myanmar. The military junta said it had suffered attacks in at least 10 different locations, all in Shan. It is estimated that the three groups together have at least 15 thousand fighters.
According to the United Nations, at least 6,200 people have been displaced, 600 of whom have fled to China. One of the three armed groups, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, released images on Monday showing its fighters occupying the town of Chinshwehaw, one of five border crossings between Myanmar and China. China has good relations with the junta, of which it is the main supplier of weapons, but also maintains relations with some Shan rebel groups, some of which are made up of ethnic Chinese.
Myanmar’s armed groups are usually organized along ethnic lines and demand greater autonomy for the region in which they are rooted. They have clashed with the government for decades, but since the 2021 coup, which brought the military junta to power, many autonomist groups have allied themselves with the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), the armed wing of the civilian government in exile. The government-in-exile is recognized by the European Union as Myanmar’s only legitimate one.
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