Myanmar’s military has extended the unilateral ceasefire it first announced in December for two more months to “aid the peace process”, according to a statement released by the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services on Saturday.
In December, Myanmar’s military, or Tatmadaw, announced a four-month unilateral ceasefire till April 30 suspending “all military movements” in the country’s troubled northern and eastern areas in order “to enable negotiations to take place,” although they reserved the right to re-engage in conflict “if needed”
They’ve extended the deadline once before, from April 30 to June 30, explaining that the decision was to help “implement the peace process.”
Despite the supposed ceasefire, the Tatmadaw has continued to engage in military activities against an insurgent armed group, the Arakan Army (AA) in Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state, and stands accused of war crimes and human rights violations, an Amnesty International report in May alleges.
The Myanmar military began launching a counteroffensive against AA in January after the civilian government and the Tatmadaw vowed to “crush” the rebels after the AA launched coordinated attacks against Myanmar outposts, killing over a dozen police officers and injuring nine others.
The Myanmar government has also enforced a mobile internet blackout in large swaths of Rakhine State, an unprecedented move that rights groups, intergovernmental agencies and other countries have said undermines transparency amid ongoing fighting between the military and insurgents.
Myanmar is embroiled in the world’s longest ongoing civil war that began shortly after the nation gained independence from the British. While the NLD government had promised to implement the peace process as one of their landmark campaign promises, their efforts have proved fruitless in resolving the decades-long quagmire.
