Thailand urges bigger ASEAN role in resolving Myanmar conflict
Bangkok, Thailand Reuters Thailand called on Friday for the regional bloc ASEAN to take a more proactive role in trying to resolve the crisis in military-ruled Myanmar, after weeks of fighting near its border that halted trade and led to a brief influx of refugees. Myanmar is locked in a civil war between the military […]
Myanmar warlord at centre of battle for key border town
Reuters Armed soldiers loyal to a turncoat warlord patrol the streets of south-eastern Myanmar’s frontier town of Myawaddy, as troops of the ruling junta and rebels jostle for control of the outpost that handles more than $US1 billion in border trade every year. The struggle for Myawaddy has highlighted the role played by Colonel Saw […]
Myanmar rebel group withdraws troops from key town on Thai border
Reuters A Myanmar rebel group has withdrawn its troops from a town along the Thai border following a counter-offensive by soldiers of the ruling junta from whom the resistance fighters had wrested the key trading post this month, an official said on Wednesday. The Karen National Union (KNU) made a “temporary retreat” from the town […]
Fighting flares at Myanmar-Thai border as rebels target stranded junta troops
Reuters Fighting raged at Myanmar’s eastern frontier with Thailand on Saturday, both governments said, forcing 3,000 civilians to flee as rebels fought to flush out Myanmar junta troops holed up for days at a bridge border crossing. Resistance fighters and ethnic minority rebels seized the key trading town of Myawaddy on the Myanmar side of […]
Myanmar: In a rebel-held town, fragile unity pushes junta to the brink
PANU WONGCHA-UM, of Reuters, reports that the seizure of a critical trading post by rebels forces last week provides some insights into the ongoing conflict in Myanmar…
Prominent Baptist pastor in military-ruled Myanmar detained again hours after release from prison
Bangkok, Thailand AP A prominent Christian church leader and human rights advocate from Myanmar’s Kachin ethnic minority was detained by the authorities just hours after he was released from prison under an amnesty by the military government, a relative, a colleague and local media said Thursday. Rev Hkalam Samson, former head of the Kachin Baptist Convention and […]
Myanmar’s ex-leader Suu Kyi moved to house arrest
Reuters Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, a spokesperson for the military government told media. “Since the weather is extremely hot, it is not only for Aung San Suu Kyi…For all those, who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners, we are working […]
Rebels raise flag at seized Myanmar base, commander confident of retaining control
Myawaddy, Myanmar Reuters Myanmar resistance fighters on Monday burned the flag used by the military government and raised their own banner at a newly captured army base, as a senior rebel commander vowed they would hold the strategic area near the Thai border. The celebrations by fighters linked to the armed ethnic Karen National Union […]
Fall of Myanmar town to rebels sends people fleeing into Thailand
Mae Sot, Thailand Reuters Hundreds of refugees crossed over the river frontier between Myanmar and Thailand on Friday following the fall of a strategic border town to rebels fighting Myanmar’s military junta. Some said they feared airstrikes by the Myanmar military after the rebel capture of Myawaddy, a town of around 200,000 people lying across […]
Myanmar troops retreat as rebels declare control over key border town
Reuters About 200 Myanmar military personnel withdrew to a bridge to Thailand on Thursday after a days-long assault by the anti-junta resistance, which declared it had won control of the critical border town of Myawaddy, the latest in a string of rebel wins. Myanmar’s military-run government is battling insurgencies on several fronts and has suffered […]