BANGKOK – Myanmar anti-coup militants briefly took control of numerous border outposts after junta-aligned militia defected and joined the rebels, unleashing days of severe fighting, according to state media on Thursday.
Since the military putsch in 2021, conflict has destroyed large swaths of the country, with some established ethnic rebel organisations training and fighting alongside the newer People’s Defence Forces against the junta.
The rugged Kayah state on the Thai border has become a resistance hotspot, harbouring thousands of democratic demonstrators who have turned PDF fighters.
Five border posts in the state held by Border Guard Force (BGF) personnel were subjected to “massive attacks” by anti-coup rebels between June 13 and 19, according to official media.
Former ethnic rebels who have joined the military in exchange for local autonomy and lucrative commercial privileges make up the Border Guard Forces.
They are frequently deployed with regular troops.
According to the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar, communications with a BGF post in Pantain, southeast Kayah, were disrupted for many days.
According to the report, fighters at the BGF site “had betrayed the State and the Tatmadaw [military] by launching a rebellion” and supporting anti-coup rebels.
According to the report, the defectors took firearms and ammo with them.
The military had subsequently retaken the position at Pantain on June 17, backed by air and artillery strikes, it claimed.
On June 27, another BGF post in Sukpaing was retaken.
It stated that the military had suffered casualties in officers and other ranks, but provided no further specifics.
According to the opposition National Unity Government, which is primarily made up of dismissed MPs and is seeking to overthrow the coup, dozens of junta troops have defected.
According to observers, PDF groups have astonished the military with their efficiency and driven the force into a terrible quagmire.
The junta stated in February that it did not “fully control” more than a third of the country’s townships.
According to the junta’s information team, 20 metres of a bridge on a highway connecting commercial hub Yangon with the Thai border were mined and demolished on Thursday.
A drone assault on soldiers and officials examining the damage killed two people and injured ten others, including members of the security forces, according to the report.
According to an officer with the ethnic rebel Karen National Liberation Army, their men and PDF militants mined the bridge.
The KNLA, which has been at odds with the military for decades, has been an outspoken opponent of the coup and has provided refuge to dissidents attempting to depose the junta.
Experts say the military is using artillery strikes and air power to combat the intense opposition on the ground.
Ten civilians were killed in a military airstrike on a village in the northern Sagaing district on Tuesday, according to villagers and media reports.
