Myanmar ethnic armed groups seize beach resort town; launch attacks on junta

Myanmar ethnic armed groups seize beach resort town and launch attacks on junta positions in ongoing conflict.

“Myanmar ethnic armed groups seized a popular beach resort town in the west of the country and launched dawn attacks on junta positions in the north,” a military source and residents told AFP on June 25.

Fighting is raging across swathes of the Southeast Asian nation as ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy "People's Defence Forces" battle the military, which seized power in a 2021 coup.

In western Rakhine state Arakan Army (AA) fighters have battled security forces for days around Ngapali beach, home to upmarket hotels and resorts owned by military-backed businesses.

“Junta troops and police had retreated to an airport in the town of Thandwe, around two kilometres (more than a mile) away,” a military source, speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP.

“Hundreds of kilometres away in northern Shan state, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) launched dawn attacks on the military in the town of Kyaukme,” residents said.

One resident of the town, which sits on a vital highway to China, said they had heard artillery and gunfire around the town since the morning. "Most people from the town are hiding inside their houses," another Kyaukme resident who works for a volunteer rescue team told AFP.

“The TNLA had restricted travel around Kyaukme,” they said, requesting anonymity for security reasons. The AA and TNLA are members of the so-called "Three Brotherhood Alliance" that launched a surprise offensive against the junta last October across northern Shan state.