Friday, 8 January, 2016
Arakan Army troops on parade in Laiza, Kachin State, in April 2014. (Photo: Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy)
Myanmar’s army says it has fought skirmishes against a Buddhist insurgent group in impoverished Rakhine state, losing several soldiers to sniper attacks.
The military, known as the Tatmadaw, has clashed 15 times with Buddhist Arakan Army rebels since 28 December, when it “cleared the area, acting on intelligence that AA insurgents were preparing to invade”, the army-run Myawadi news agency said, according to the government-owned New Light of Myanmar.
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Wednesday, 6 January, 2016
North Korea has detonated what it claims to be a hydrogen bomb. Following the fourth nuclear test on Wednesday at its nuclear site, the North said in a statement that its nuclear program is only a defensive strategy against the United States. Citing a smaller-than-expected explosive yield, Seoul is suspicious of Pyongyang’s H-bomb claim.
Kim Bum-soo reports.
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Tuesday, 5 January, 2016
Fierce clashes have reportedly erupted between Taliban and Islamic State (IS) fighters in eastern Afghanistan, leaving dozens of people dead on both sides.
Afghan police reported Tuesday the fighting in the remote Batikot and Chaparhar districts of Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan, began after hundreds of Taliban insurgents mounted a big attack on IS bases earlier this week.
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A clash between the Burma Army and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) on New Year’s Eve marked the first outbreak of conflict between government forces and an ethnic armed group signatory to the country’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).
According to an RCSS/SSA-S spokesperson, fighting occurred at about 1 p.m. on December 31 in Mong Peng Township in eastern Shan State’s Kengtung District. The clash allegedly lasted one hour and involved the Burma Army Battalion No. 278 and RCSS/SSA-S troops.
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Sunday, 3 January, 2016
The 12-day holiday truce between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is set to end Sunday night with the military reiterating its call for the rebels to renounce violence and live peaceful lives.
With the end of the ceasefire, the military can resume offensive operations against the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the CPP.
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