On Saturday, 10 ethnic armed groups that are signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement met virtually to discuss the situation, condemning the junta’s use of live ammunition on protesters.
By AFP
Ten ethnic armed groups that have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement threw their support behind the country’s anti-coup movement Saturday, fanning fears that a broader conflict could erupt in a country long plagued by fighting between the military and the ethnic armies.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted the elected government on February 1, triggering an uprising that the junta has sought to quell with deadly crackdowns. According to a local monitoring group, more than 550 people have been killed in the anti-coup unrest.
On Saturday, all 10 NCA signatories met virtually to discuss the situation, and the ethnic armed groups condemned the junta’s use of live ammunition on protesters.
“The leaders of the military council must be held accountable,” said General Yawd Serk, leader of major Shan armed group the Restoration Council of Shan State.
Last week, the junta declared a month-long, nationwide ceasefire with ethnic armed groups, though exceptions might be made if the “security and administrative machinery of the government … are encroached on”.
The announcement did not encompass stopping lethal force against anti-coup demonstrations.
But Yawd Serk said the ceasefire required security forces to halt “all violent actions”, including against protesters.
The NCA, first signed by eight ethnic armed groups in 2015 under the military-backed government of President U Thein Sein, aims for a negotiated settlement to more than seven decades of civil war in Myanmar. Two more armed groups joined under the subsequent government of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but most of Myanmar’s major armed groups remain outside of the agreement.
During the Saturday meeting, Yawd Serk said the 10 signatories to the NCA would “review” the deal.
“I would like to state that the [10 groups] firmly stand with the people who are … demanding the end of dictatorship,” he said.
Last week, a United Nations special envoy on Myanmar warned the Security Council of the risk of civil war and an imminent “bloodbath”.
‘No reason for conflict’
The ethnic armed group meeting comes a week after one of them, the Karen National Union, seized a military base in eastern Karen State, killing 10 army officers. The junta retaliated with air strikes.
The KNU has been a vocal opponent of the military junta and said it is sheltering hundreds of anti-coup activists.
On Saturday, the group condemned the military’s use of “excessive force by engaging in non-stop bombing and air strikes” from March 27 to 30, which have “caused the deaths of many people including children”.
“The air strikes have also led to the further displacement of more than 12,000 people,” it said.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the military has only been targeting the KNU’s 5th Brigade – which led to the seizure of the military base.
“We had an air strike on that day only,” he told AFP.
“We have signed a nationwide ceasefire agreement … If they follow the NCA, there is no reason for conflict to happen.”
Ethnic Karen local media and rights groups have reported multiple bombings and air strikes across the state over recent days.
‘This madness must stop’
With the junta cutting wifi services, mobile data and imposing a nightly internet blackout that has gone on for nearly 50 days, information flow in the country has been effectively throttled.
Arrest warrants were also issued for 20 popular actors, models and social media influencers, most of whom are in hiding, accusing them of spreading information that could cause mutiny in the armed forces.
Thousands across the country continued to come out to protest – with at least two cities seeing security forces violently crack down before noon.
In eastern Mon State, a man was shot in the stomach and died on his way to the hospital, while a rescue worker in central Monywa told AFP “two were shot in the head” when facing off against authorities.
Footage of the crackdown in Monywa verified by AFP shows protesters struggling to carry a young man bleeding from his head to safety as gunfire rings out in the background.
CNN – which was granted access by the junta – arrived this week with correspondent Clarissa Ward, who was ferried around Yangon in a military convoy.
On Friday, she spoke to two sisters – Shine Ya Da Na Pyo and Nay Zar Chi Shine – who were later detained along with another relative.
Local media reported they had flashed a three-finger salute – a symbol of opposition to the junta – while speaking to Ward.
“We don’t know where they’ve been detained,” said a relative of the sisters who did not want to be named.
“Our family is trying our best for their release.”
CNN did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.
