BANGKOK (AFP) – A second major Myanmar ethnic rebel group has said it is ready for talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), with about 8,000 available fighters, has fought the Myanmar military for over a decade for autonomy for the Kokang ethnic minority in northern Shan state.
Last year, MNDAA and two other allied rebel groups launched an offensive against the military and seized swathes of Shan state.
Last week, MNDAA ally the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) said it was ready for talks with the military.
“From today onwards we will cease fire immediately, and will not actively attack the Myanmar army,” the MNDAA said in a statement. “We are willing to engage in peace talks with the Myanmar army on issues such as Lashio,” it said, referring to the city its fighters captured in August in a huge blow to the junta.
The MNDAA was “willing to send a high-level delegation to engage in dialogue and consult with the Myanmar military and resolve conflicts and differences through political means”, it said.
A junta spokesman did not respond when contacted for comment on the MNDAA statement.
The junta has not responded to the TNLA offer, and local media outlets have reported continued air strikes on TNLA-held territory.
The Arakan Army (AA), the third group in the rebel alliance, is still fighting the military in coastal Rakhine state in Myanmar’s west.
