Myanmar rebels claim killing and capturing junta troops

A member of the Myanmar security forces stands by a checkpoint in Yangon on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, on the 75th Martyrs' Day that marks the anniversary of the assassination of independence leaders including general Aung San, father of the currently deposed and imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi. - AFP

YANGON, July 19, 2022 (AFP): A Myanmar ethnic rebel group said Tuesday it had captured 14 junta troops and killed an unspecified number, in the latest blow to a fragile peace in the only region to have seen no post-coup crackdown.

Days after its putsch last year, the junta reaffirmed a ceasefire with the Arakan Army (AA), which has for years fought a war for autonomy for Rakhine state's ethnic Rakhine population.