Fighters hostile to the February 1 military coup in Burma attacked a police station in Mobye, a town in the east of the country on Sunday (May 23), claiming to have killed at least 13 members of the security forces and in having captured four, local media report.
A member of the People's Defense Force, an organization fighting against the junta, told the Irrawaddy news portal that the post was set on fire and two civilians were injured in the clashes.
According to other media, up to fifteen members of the security forces were killed.
Fighting was also reported on Sunday between Burmese security forces and an alliance of armed groups formed by ethnic minorities in Muse, a town on the border with China, in the northeast of the country.
Another clash was reported by Burmese media near the town of Demoso, 20 km south of Mobye.
Insurgents claimed to have killed up to 20 members of the security forces, who dispatched reinforcements equipped with armored vehicles.
Threat of dissolution of the LND party and abolished age limit for generals
Faced with new conflicts on several fronts, the military who seized power last February also face daily protests and strikes against the coup that cripple hospitals, schools and many private businesses.
More than 125,000 teachers - a third of the total number of teachers in the country - have been suspended for participating in the civil disobedience movement, an official from the Federation of Myanmar Teachers said on Saturday.
Protesters are also calling for the release of nearly 4,300 people arrested since the coup, including elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In power in Burma since the February 1 putsch, the junta also threatens to dissolve the political party (LND) of the dismissed former civilian leader, citing accusations of fraud in the last legislative elections, an official said.
The investigation into the results of the November 2020 elections is almost complete, the chairman of the Union of Burma Election Commission, Thein Soe, added on Friday.
The electoral commission met with political parties on Friday to discuss possible changes to the electoral system, but the NLD was not represented at this meeting.
The head of the junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, justified the coup by citing allegations of fraud in the November legislative elections, which were won overwhelmingly by the NLD.
Local media reported on Thursday that the junta lifted the retirement age limit for generals, which would allow General Min Aung Hlaing to remain in office even after he turned 65 in July.
With AFP and Reuters
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