BURMA – CONFLICT: The Burmese army in full offensive

 

The Burmese army has launched new offensives in several strategic border regions, notably in an area rich in rare earths as well as along major commercial routes. These operations come one month after the new administration officially took office at the head of a country still deeply marked by civil war.

 

The new military leader Ye Win Oo, who took office in March after the resignation of his historic predecessor who became president, launched a major offensive aimed at regaining control of strategic border positions held by ethnic armies.

 

Recent military offensives focus on Kachin State, a region rich in heavy rare earths on the Chinese border, but also on Chin State, on the Indian border, as well as on an important commercial corridor in Karen State, neighboring Thailand.

 

At a meeting last week, Ye Win Oo told his troops that the army had secured the town of Falam in Chin state as well as a strategic axis linking Mandalay to Myitkyina in Kachin state, according to the official daily Global New Light of Myanmar.

 

The offensives come after former junta leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing last month called on rebel groups opposed to the army to begin peace talks within 100 days – a proposal rejected by many ethnic armies.

 

Strategic entry points

 

The army is now seeking to advance deeper into northern Kachin state to regain control of mining areas along the Chinese border, which produce around half of the world’s heavy rare earths, essential in particular for wind turbines and vehicles electric.

 

Naw Bu, spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which has controlled the region since October 2024, says the armed group has strengthened its defensive positions, particularly around the strategic sectors of Chipwi and Pangwa. “We will welcome them with the fire of our weapons,” he declared.

 

At the same time, the army intensified its offensive on the Western Front in Chin State, bordering India, threatening an important cross-border logistics route used by opposition groups operating inside Burma.

 

According to Salai Van, spokesperson for the Chin National Front, resistance fighters had to make strategic withdrawals from the towns of Falam and Tonzong in the face of massive aerial bombardments carried out by the army to reconquer lost territories.

 

The army also launched an offensive to regain control of the Myawaddy-Kawkareik highway near Thailand, a major trade route around which fighting has raged since the Karen National Union (KNU) advanced towards the border town of Myawaddy in 2024.

 

The KNU is one of the groups explicitly mentioned by Min Aung Hlaing in his attempt to bring opposition organizations together for negotiations by July 31. “The army has repeatedly violated and continues its commitments on the path to peace and has never respected the agreements concluded,” denounces Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the KNU. “So it goes without saying that there is absolutely no trust. Whatever they try, it is doomed to failure. HAS”

 

Every week, receive our newsletterGavroche Hebdo. Register by clicking here