A force of over 1,000 junta troops is preparing to advance on Karenni State’s lucrative tin‑and‑tungsten mining hub, say frontline sources.
A force of over 1,000 junta troops is preparing to advance on Karenni State’s lucrative tin‑and‑tungsten mining hub, say frontline sources.
Tensions between the TNLA and MNDAA may be partly territorial envy, but more blame attaches to Chinese brothels, illegal mining and other insalubrious business in the area, says Joe Kumbun.
Ethnic forces push to within 2 kilometers of Rakhine State capital, reportedly defended by around 3,000 Myanmar junta troops.
A new MoU to hold a Myanmar gems exhibition in China’s Jiegao highlights the junta’s deepening reliance on Beijing as sanctions and conflict batter the jade trade.
A raft of political prisoners were freed after being convicted under the scattergun law of “harboring or financing” terrorists, but senior democratic figures remain in jail.