Myanmar (Burma) rebels seize vital border town as China calls for ceasefire

"Myanmar’s military government says it has lost control of an important town on the border

with China after days of fierce fighting with armed groups.
The loss is a major blow to the generals who seized power from Myanmar’s elected government in February 2021 and have since struggled to contain opposition to their rule. The town, bordering China’s Yunnan province, is central to the flow of trade from Myanmar to China. More than a quarter of Myanmar’s $1.8bn border trade with China passed through Chinshwehaw from April to September. The development follows days of fighting throughout Myanmar’s northern Shan state between the army and a coalition of three ethnic rebel groups known as the Brotherhood Alliance – the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). ....the three armed groups of “blowing up power stations, blowing up bridges, destroying transportation routes”." AP