By Poppy McPherson
LOI TAI LENG, Myanmar, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The head of one of Myanmar’s influential ethnic armies accused world leaders of ignoring the ruling military junta's surge in deadly airstrikes on civilians, adding that only China was intervening in the conflict.
Reuters was the only international outlet present for the leader's first meeting with media in years, just days after an election held by the Southeast Asian nation's ruling junta that cemented the military's grip on power.
"The
civilians are suffering and I want the international community not to ignore it," said General Yawd Serk, who chairs the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), speaking at his mountaintop base.
The world has failed to stop the turmoil as the military steps up bombing campaigns across the country, he added, citing airstrikes that have hit more than 1,000 civilian locations in 15 months, according to data from the Myanmar Peace Monitor.
"Nowadays, we can’t even think who we can rely on," added Yawd Serk, whose group controls strategic territory between China and Thailand, and is headquartered at Loi Tai Leng, an isolated town perched between forest-clad hills on the Thai border.
Myanmar has been engulfed in nationwide conflict since a military coup in 2021 that toppled the government of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the first democratic administration in half a century.
Since late 2024, air attacks have killed at least 1,728 civilians, slowing the advance of pro‑democracy forces that lack an air force. The junta says it is targeting terrorists.
Speaking after a military parade for Shan National Day, Yawd Serk called for trust-building among Myanmar’s array of armed factions, adding that political dialogue with the military was still needed to end the war.
A spokesperson for the ruling junta did not immediately answer telephone calls to seek comment.
JANUARY VOTE WIDELY CRITICISED
A military-backed party claimed victory in January after elections in limited areas, a vote the United Nations and rights groups have criticised as designed to entrench military power, with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing expected to be president.
Addressing thousands gathered at his border headquarters for a parade by about 1,000 soldiers armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Yawd Serk, long seen as a shrewd player who maintains a ceasefire with the junta, struck a sharp tone.
He praised Suu Kyi’s ousted administration and criticised Min Aung Hlaing, blaming Myanmar's turmoil on a "leadership driven by excessive ego, pride, and greed - placing the will of one individual above the desires of the public".
In a statement, Min Aung Hlaing urged ethnic and "terrorist" groups to abandon armed struggle and join peace talks.
Yawd Serk dismissed the request as an old message "no one has accepted" but added that his army would judge the new government by its actions, saying he preferred a political solution to renewed fighting.
CHINESE INTERVENTION
A key hub for both legal and illegal business in Asia's Golden Triangle, Shan State is home to armed groups with competing interests and shifting alliances, where the coup reshaped the balance of power as non‑Shan factions seized territory.
China acted as powerbroker, backing some groups, before pressing them to halt offensives to stabilise the junta, which Beijing views as a guarantor of security for Belt and Road infrastructure projects vital to its interests.
Rival forces pushed the RCSS out of areas near the Chinese frontier.
The approach has led to a "fractured landscape" that risks deepening grievances and destabilising a state key to Myanmar’s future, the International Crisis Group said in November.
"There is one country which intervenes in Myanmar, it is China and only China," Yawd Serk told Reuters, declining to elaborate.
China has "long played a constructive role in the domestic peace and reconciliation process, earning recognition from all sectors of the Myanmar society and the international community" its foreign ministry said in a statement.
It backed parties strengthening dialogue and reconciliation, it added.
At Saturday's event, attended by representatives of groups including longtime RCSS rivals, Yawd Serk said he aimed to build trust, resolve disputes through talks and work to set up a federal army, a key demand of forces opposing the military.
A diverse array of Shan groups had met and agreed on principles for a future federal state, he added.
Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the Karen National Union, one of the most powerful groups fighting the junta, which did not attend the gathering but sent a letter, said it was a "critical time for us to build unity".
"We are proud that our Shan brothers are trying to pave the way," he said by telephone, adding that his group would work hand‑in‑hand with them.
(Reporting by Poppy McPherson in Loi Tai Leng and Myanmar bureau; Additional reporting by Beijing bureau; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
