The Brotherhood Alliance of three powerful ethnic armies said Saturday it would have seized all of its targeted towns and cities in northern Shan State by now had it not felt bound to honor the China-brokered ceasefire it agreed with Myanmar’s military regime.
The announcement comes after a week of flagrant ceasefire violations by the Myanmar military, which has continued to use artillery and aircraft to strike both civilian targets and the territory of ethnic rebel groups across northern Shan and Mogoke Township in neighboring Mandalay Region.
Both sides also made a commitment not to endanger the security of Chinese citizens along the border and to avoid causing harm or destruction to Chinese investments in Myanmar.
In the announcement on Saturday, the alliance said that agreeing to the ceasefire deal was “unavoidable”. It did not clarify this, but it is widely understood that China wields a lot of influence on both sides.
“It is only because we are complying with the deal to which we agreed, that no unwanted situations [conflicts] have occurred,” the ethnic alliance said in its statement on Thursday.
“If we didn’t have any patience or didn’t respect the agreement, we would already have seized more of the towns we have targeted,” the alliance said.
The rebel group said the military regime had repeatedly violated the ceasefire and continued to conduct air strikes against its forces and civilians across northern Shan through Thursday.
The Brotherhood Alliance, which comprises the Arakan Army (AA) from Rakhine State, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), has conducted the major anti-regime offensive known as Operation 1027 across northern Shan State with the help of several resistance groups since Oct. 27 last year.
During the operation, the ethnic alliance has seized control of most of northern Shan State including around 16 towns and the Kokang region, also known as Shan State Special Region 1.
Furthermore, the rebel armies and their resistance allies have seized over 500 junta bases including several major military command centers, as well as vital Myanmar trade routes and border gates with China.
At the time of the ceasefire, the ethnic alliance was poised to seize Lashio, the capital of northern Shan, as well as Muse town on the border with China and a number of small towns, all of which are currently surrounded by alliance forces and those of other resistance groups.
The AA widened Operation 1027 to Rakhine State on Nov. 13 last year, seizing over 160 junta bases and Paletwa town in neighboring Chin State since then.