Myanmar rebels claim new territory as China troops hold border exercises

A month of intense fighting between Myanmar’s ruling military and an alliance of ethnic minority insurgents has displaced tens of thousands of people in the border region, according to the United Nations, with concern growing in Beijing about instability and an influx of refugees.

Ethnic minority rebels fighting Myanmar's military junta said they had seized a key trading post on the northern frontier, across the border from where China's military was conducting exercises to improve combat readiness and emergency response.

A month of intense fighting between Myanmar's ruling military and an alliance of ethnic minority insurgents has displaced tens of thousands of people in the border region, according to the United Nations, with concern growing in Beijing about instability and an influx of refugees.

The rebellion has presented the biggest battlefield challenge to Myanmar's well-equipped military since it seized power in a coup in 2021.

Emboldened by the northern offensive, pro-democracy militias increase attacks on security forces elsewhere in the country.

The "Three Brotherhood Alliance", as the insurgents call themselves, said they had conquered several towns and the Kyin-San-Kyawt border gate, one of five major trading zones in the township of Muse opposite China.

Also read | Myanmar armed group seizes China-Myanmar border crossing

Late last week, in the same area, a convoy of goods trucks was set ablaze in what the junta called a "terrorist attack". The rebels denied responsibility.