The three-member group of the Northern Alliance of EAOs including the Arakan Army (AA) has urged the Tatmadaw (Burmese army) to stop their offensive on AA rebel forces and to endorse the alliance’s unilateral ceasefire declaration.
Major Mai Aike Kyaw, the Spokesperson of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) which is one of a three-member northern alliance group said: “We declared a unilateral ceasefire. However, the Tatmadaw has excluded the Arakan State from the ceasefire. The Tatmadaw is keeping up the pressure on the AA with military operations and pursuing a militarist approach to solving the problem.“
The three-member alliance group composed of the TNLA, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the AA, declared the 7th extension of the 70-day unilateral ceasefire from September 1 to November 9, to help support the success of the upcoming election scheduled for November 8 this year.
Major Mai Aike Kyaw said: “The move aims to enable the people to cast their votes freely in the November Election.”
A mine explosion occurred in Kyauktaw Township three days after the release of the statement on the unilateral ceasefire.
Two police members were injured by the remote mine attack on the vehicles transporting the police members from Kyauktaw Township at around 6.30 pm on 2 September, about 4,000 meters from the south of Kyauktaw Township.
The bodies of two insurgent members and one gun were seized. The Burmese army blamed the AA but both sides use landmines in this conflict.
According to Arakan State-based media he Burmese military was accused of laying mines that killed two villagers and Phayapaung and Taungpauk villages were set on fire.
The Tatmadaw denied these allegations of their responsibility
.
Lower House MP Daw Khin Saw Wai from Yathaedaung Township in Arakan State said, “The relevant organizations are urgently required to coordinate for the reduction of armed conflict and the success of the 2020 General Election in Arakan State.
However, neither the three-member Northern Alliance nor the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC) formed with the EAOs in northern Myanmar is able to arrange any dialogue with the Burmese army to stop the fighting.
