24-11-2023 (YANGON) The military-controlled government of Myanmar reported on Thursday that nearly half of the 250 cargo trucks stranded near the northeastern border with China have been destroyed in a fire caused by bombs dropped by drones during fighting against ethnic minority armed groups.
Major General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the ruling military council, conveyed in a statement to state television MRTV that the trucks, parked in a compound near a trade zone in Muse township, caught fire after drones belonging to ethnic armed organizations attacked at approximately 9:45 a.m. on Thursday.
This incident marked one of the most dramatic and extensive property damage events since the Three Brotherhood Alliance—comprising the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Arakan Army—launched a coordinated offensive in northern Shan state on October 27. The trucks, vital for transporting goods to and from China, were targeted.
Zaw Min Tun stated that around 120 out of the 258 trucks parked near the Kyin-San-Kyawt Border Gate were destroyed in the fire, which he attributed to the alliance. He mentioned that the fire was extinguished after about six hours but did not provide information on casualties.
Le Kyar Win, spokesperson for the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, denied the alliance’s involvement in the attack, placing blame on the military itself. “To be honest, this is an act that harms the people. And that place is not our military target. So there is no reason for us to attack,” Le Kyar Win asserted.
The Three Brotherhood Alliance has claimed significant victories, and the military government acknowledged losing three towns soon after the fighting began. The ongoing conflict, which has included the destruction of bridges and cutting key roads from Myanmar’s interior, has severely disrupted legal cross-border trade with China, posing a significant economic challenge for Myanmar.
The armed resistance, triggered by the military seizing power in February 2021, has persisted against the military regime’s better-armed and more numerous security forces. The People’s Defense Force, aligned with battle-hardened ethnic armed groups, is challenging the military government in various parts of the country.
According to a Wednesday report from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the escalation of violence is the largest in scale and most extensive geographically since the military takeover in early 2021, affecting multiple areas, particularly northern and southern Shan, Sagaing, Kayah, Rakhine, and southern Chin.
The report highlighted that key transport routes in townships with active fighting have been blocked by both the army and ethnic armed groups, restricting people’s movements and hampering humanitarian access.
As of late October, the fighting has resulted in the reported death of 187 civilians, with 246 others injured, and over 286,000 people displaced. Since the army’s 2021 takeover, more than 1.8 million people have been displaced, according to OCHA estimates.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army is currently besieging the town of Laukkaing, the administrative capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. The military organization, representing the Kokang minority, aims to oust a rival Kokang group supported by the military government from its seat of power in the town.
Laukkaing has gained notoriety for hosting major organized criminal enterprises, including cyber-scam operations controlled by Chinese investors in collaboration with local Myanmar warlords. In recent weeks, as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army has made territorial gains, thousands of Chinese nationals involved in such operations have been repatriated into police custody in China.
Fire caused by explosion destroys 85 trucks near Kyinsankyawt gate in Musehttps://t.co/Td4I8mJxq9 pic.twitter.com/SyYCUHQtTq
— Eleven Myanmar (@ElevenMyanmar) November 24, 2023
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