Junta struggling to counter offensive by armed ethnic groups, amid claims it has lost 100 outposts in the north

Myanmar’s military is facing its biggest military challenge since it seized power in a coup more than two years ago, after an alliance of opponents cut off key trading routes and seized towns and dozens of outposts near the Chinese border.

The offensive in northern Shan state, which was launched by an alliance of ethnic armed groups in coordination with newer anti-coup groups, is a significant blow for the military, analysts say, and could be exploited by the wider pro-democracy resistance movement.

Victims of attack in Kachin state include children, according to media and local activists

At least 29 people, including young children, have been killed in an attack on a camp for displaced people in Myanmar’s Kachin state, according to media reports and two local activists.

Dozens more people were injured in the attack, which happened at about 11.30pm on Monday night in Kachin, Myanmar’s northernmost state, it was reported. Unverified images on social media, showed men carrying victims, including a small child, from the rubble in the darkness.

Since the coup in 2021 the carnage has been unceasing, meanwhile Russia and China continue to send weapons

• In the targets of the junta: life and war inside rebel-held Myanmar

The problem is not that governments around the world are unaware of what is happening in Myanmar. It’s that they are not doing nearly enough to stop it.

Since the military seized power in a coup in early 2021, it has terrorised the country, killed, tortured and imprisoned thousands of citizens, broken countless laws, and made a mockery of the UN.