Top Headlines

Myanmar insurgent group likely to challenge military

An armed insurgent group of ethnic Burmese is likely to surface in Myanmar’s urban centres soon, those connected with it said.

Sentinel Digital Desk

KOLKATA: An armed insurgent group of ethnic Burmese is likely to surface in Myanmar's urban centres soon, those connected with it said.

Myanmar has dozens of rebel armies representing ethnic minorities like Kachins, Karens, Was and Shans that have fought the country's military for decades since 1960s and some even before that.

A youth leader coordinating between the neighbourhood watch resistance groups in commercial hub Yangon told IANS that the massacres perpetrated by the Tatmadaw (military) has forced them to weigh the option of armed resistance.

"We have to bring back democracy, we have to bring back Parliament, we cannot let the military rule again, we believe in peaceful protests but what option are we left with if the Tatmadaw kills its own people like flies," the youth leader said on the condition of anonymity.

He disclosed that a 'Federal Army' is being formed to continue the struggle for democracy, though he did not say clearly when it would surface.

More than 200 protesters have been killed in firings by security forces across Myanmar, mostly in cities like Yangon, Mandalay and Dawei, since the February 1 military takeover that prevented Nobel laureate Aung Saan Suu Kyi's NLD party form a government for a second time. (IANS)