Last week, an alliance of ethnic rebel groups captured the military’s northeastern command in the town of Lashio, home to about 150,000 people.
The capture of the regional command – the first by opponents of the junta since the military’s 2021 coup – has sparked rare public criticism of the top generals by its supporters.
On Monday, Min Aung Hlaing said the alliance was receiving weapons, including drones and short-range missiles, from “foreign” sources that he did not identify.
Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting, according to the junta and local rescue groups.
Myanmar’s borderlands are home to myriad ethnic armed groups who have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 for autonomy and control of lucrative resources.
Some have given shelter and training to newer “People’s Defence Forces” that have sprung up to battle the military after its ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in a 2021 coup.
