Junta vows to hit back at ethnic groups

On the offensive: Hlaing (left) speaking during a meeting in Naypyidaw. — AFP

The country’s junta chief vowed to strike back after an alliance of ethnic minority groups seized towns and blocked trade routes to China in the biggest coordinated offensive against the military since it seized power in a coup.

Fighting has raged for a week across a wide swathe of northern Shan State, forcing more than 23,000 people from their homes according to the UN, in what analysts say is the most severe military challenge to the junta since it seized power in 2021.