Myanmar poet turned rebel leader seeks new territory

Maung Saungkha commands a militia group fighting for democracy, in an undisclosed location in the jungles of southeast Myanmar. - Reuters

YANGON (Reuters): Poet turned militia leader Maung Saungkha, one of the most prominent figures fighting for democracy in Myanmar, says his armed group plans to start carving out territory in the country's heartlands to confront the junta more directly.

Maung Saungkha said the move is a key strategic aim for his Bamar People's Liberation Army (BPLA) - a militia formed in the wake of the junta's February 2021 coup - now that it has gained training from allies and battle experience in the country's borderlands.