Myanmar military steps up anti-rebel fight with expanded martial law

Latest move fuels concern of further instability and conflict

20230204N Myanmar PDF

People's Defense Force members in eastern Myanmar in 2021. © Reuters

Nikkei staff writers

BANGKOK -- Tensions in Myanmar are expected to escalate after the military government declared martial law in 37 of the country's 330 townships, signaling a renewed effort to wipe out the resistance.

The move, which came on Thursday, a day after authorities extended a national state of emergency by six months, largely affects areas with heavy fighting between the military and rebel groups. A quarter or more of townships in the Sagaing region and Chin state in the northwest, as well as in Kayah state in the east, are now under martial law.

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