BANGKOK: A second major Myanmar ethnic rebel group has said it is ready for China-mediated talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting that has ravaged areas along the Chinese border.
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, it and two other allied rebel groups launched an offensive against the military and seized swathes of Shan state, including ruby mines and a lucrative trade highway to China.
The military has repeatedly pounded territory it has lost with artillery and air strikes, but a promised counter-offensive on the ground has yet to materialise.
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 released late on Tuesday (Dec 3).
“Under the mediation of China, 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.
