Myanmar junta chief warns of ‘counterattacks’ in opponent-held areas

General Min Aung Hlaing has accused the People’s Defence Forces of “bombing administrative buildings and using innocent civilians as human shields”, media reports said. File | Photo credit: AP

Myanmar’s embattled junta chief has warned civilians in areas recently seized by ethnic minority armed groups to prepare for military counter-attacks, state media reported on Wednesday.

The military has lost large parts of its territory in northern Shan state, near the border with China, to a coalition of armed ethnic minority groups and “People’s Defence Forces” fighting to overturn a 2021 coup.

The groups have seized control of a regional military command and lucrative border trade routes, leading to public criticism of the junta’s top leadership by military supporters.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said in the Shan state capital Taunggyi on Tuesday that junta troops would “launch counter-attacks,” according to the military. Myanmar’s global new light,

According to the newspaper, he accused the coalition of “bombing administrative buildings and using innocent civilians as human shields”.

“Therefore, people living in towns and villages illegally occupied by terrorists must be security conscious so that they do not face exploitation.”

The junta is battling widespread armed opposition and its troops have been accused of using air and artillery strikes to carry out bloody crackdowns and punish civilian communities.

It announced this week that the three main ethnic minority armed groups fighting the army in Shan state had been officially declared “terrorist” organisations.

The announcement will not affect the fight against the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), although those found supporting or contacting them may now face legal action.

Coalition and PDF groups have fought near Mandalay, another city home to about 1.5 million people and home to the military’s central command.

Military opponents launched a rocket attack on Mandalay on Tuesday, damaging buildings and wounding one person, according to local media, in a rare attack on an urban area.

An opinion piece in Wednesday’s issue Myanmar’s global new light He criticised the army’s recent defeat in Shan State.

“Who would have thought Lashio would be captured,” it said, referring to the Shan town of 150,000 that was captured last month.

“Then who will give you a definite assurance that nothing will happen to whatever you have in Mandalay?”

It said, “When the city starts receiving artillery fire, it will be too late for an orderly exit from the city.”