Myanmar rebel group announces ceasefire deal with junta ahead of general polls

ISTANBUL

A major ethnic rebel group in Myanmar announced Wednesday that it had signed a cease-fire agreement with the junta regime ahead of the upcoming general elections.

The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) stated on Telegram that the agreement was reached with the regime during Chinese-mediated peace talks.

The two sides have held several rounds of talks, including one on Monday and Tuesday in Kunming, a city in southern China.

There was no official statement from the junta regarding the latest ceasefire.

The rebel group has said that it will hand over control of Mogoke in Mandalay and Mongmit in Shan State to the junta in exchange for the military regime ceasing bombing of TNLA-held areas.

The latest truce occurred months after the junta declared a ceasefire following a powerful earthquake in late March that killed hundreds of people.

The announcement of the new ceasefire comes as the military junta has announced two phases of general elections—the first since the February 2021 coup—with the first on Dec. 28 and the second on Jan. 11 next year.

The official campaign period for registered political parties has begun and will end on Dec. 26, two days before the first phase of elections later this year.

According to Burmese officials, elections will take place in 102 townships during phase one, with the remaining 100 townships voting in phase two on Jan. 11.

The last general elections in the Buddhist-majority country were held in November 2020. They were won by the National League for Democracy, whose government was overthrown in the February 2021 military coup, plunging the country into more than four years of emergency rule.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, nearly 72,422 people have been killed in Myanmar since the coup in the past years.