Description: Myanmar’s military junta has announced through official social media channels that its forces captured the strategic town of Demoso in the eastern parts of the country as they expanded their territorial control facing the self-proclaimed elections in Dec. The junta announced that after 16 days of intense combat in the region its forces managed to encircle and eliminate forces pertaining to the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), a local militant group which is part of the larger resistance force fighting against the country’s military. Intense confrontations were also reported in the town of Magok, a gem mining city where rebel militants reported that up to 21 people have been killed. The National Unity Government in exile condemned the junta’s actions and called for the rebel groups to unify under a joint banner in combating the military’s growing influence in the country. General Min Aung Hlaing, the military junta’s leader, announced earlier this month, the junta would hold elections in Dec in order to rebrand its political standing in the country and present itself as the legitimate government.
Impact: Myanmar’s civil war would intensify in the upcoming period after the election announcement and elevated foreign interest in the country’s rare earth mineral potential from China and the US. The country is entering its fifth year of warfare after the legitimate government of the National League for Democracy party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was ousted in 2021. Intense confrontations between the fractioned militant rebels and the military junta are expected to escalate as the country’s exiled government has called for unification of the oppositional forces in order to counter the military junta’s operations in several regions. The fractioned opposition among the rebel militants, if not unified, could enable the junta to further solidify its territorial holdings and eventually legitimize itself as the country’s governing force through the elections scheduled to take place in Dec.