[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

[Saif]

PM Hasina seeks Chinese cooperation to repatriate Rohingyas

The Bangladesh prime minister said Rohingyas have taken shelter over six and a half years ago but no initiative has been taken yet to repatriate them to Myanmar

en.prothomalo.com

PM Hasina seeks Chinese cooperation to repatriate Rohingyas
BSS Beijing
Updated: 10 Jul 2024, 10: 03

A high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing on 9 July 2024BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday called upon China to help Bangladesh repatriate the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar.

"Help in sending the Rohingya back to Myanmar," she was quoted as saying by Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud in a media briefing on her engagements on the second day of her visit to China.

The prime minister made the remarks when a high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning, held a meeting with the Bangladesh prime minister at the Great Hall of the People in the morning.

During the meeting, different regional and bilateral issues, including the Rohingya crisis, reducing trade gap between Bangladesh and China, celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries in a meaningful way, measures to enhance their bilateral relations and contact between Bangladesh Awami League and Chinese Communist Party, were prominently and elaborately discussed.

The Bangladesh prime minister said Rohingyas have taken shelter over six and a half years ago but no initiative has been taken yet to repatriate them to Myanmar.

"This issue was discussed (during the meeting) with the highest importance," Hasan said.

The CPPCC chairman said they will discuss the matter with Myanmar and will play a role of facilitator between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the issue.

"We will give our best efforts to initiate Rohingya repatriation by holding discussions with Myanmar," Wang Hunning said.

Finance Minister A H Mahmood Ali, PM's press secretary M Nayeemul Islam Khan and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) managing director and chief editor Abul Kalam Azad were present, among others, during the briefing.

A high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing on 9 July 2024BSS

Sheikh Hasina has stressed the need for reducing the trade gap between Bangladesh and China.

The prime minister said Bangladesh has imported huge goods from China while the list of export items is very small.

China can increase imports from Bangladesh to reduce the trade gap, she stated.

The prime minister also said China can import medicines, leather goods, jute products, vegetables and mango from Bangladesh.

While the CPPCC leaders said they will take measures to import quality goods from Bangladesh.

They also discussed in detail the existing relationship between the two countries and hoped to enhance the relations further, Hasan said.

In this regard, the prime minister said the relations between Bangladesh and China reached a new height and rooted in the deep at the initiative of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bangabandhu made visits to China in 1952 and 1957, she said, adding that she herself visited China six times.

The prime minister thanked the Chinese government for helping in building some iconic projects that include the Padma Bride, Bangabandhu Tunnel and Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC).

Enhancing relations between Bangladesh Awami League and Chinese Communist Party have also been discussed during the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina, also president of governing Bangladesh Awami League, said that her party will send a high-level delegation to China.

She also invited the Chinese Communist Party leaders to visit Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

Myanmar responded positively in taking back Rohingyas: FM Hasan

Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Swe has responded positively to start repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland-Myanmar

www.thedailystar.net

Myanmar responded positively in taking back Rohingyas: FM Hasan

Photo: PID

Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Swe has responded positively to start repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland-Myanmar.
Myanmar's foreign minister expressed this positive approach during a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat in New Delhi, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

Hasan reminded his Myanmar counterpart of their previous discussions and said that Myanmar has been saying for a long time that they are willing to take back the Rohingya citizens who have been forcibly displaced from their country and have taken shelter in Bangladesh.

But no signs of its implementation have been observed yet, Hasan said during the meeting held yesterday.

He emphasised the issue by stating that only Myanmar can set a precedent to keep its promise when the repatriation process starts.

Myanmar's foreign minister responded positively and reiterated his country's intention to begin repatriation as soon as possible in consultation with his government, Hasan said.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.3 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.

Meanwhile, on the last day of the retreat, the BIMSTEC foreign ministers had a courtesy call on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh turns back fleeing Myanmar soldiers

Bangladesh stopped dozens of Myanmar security personnel from crossing into its territory to flee advancing rebel forces, a local government official based near their river border said Tuesday...

www.newagebd.net

Bangladesh turns back fleeing Myanmar soldiers
Agence France-Presse . Teknaf 17 July, 2024, 00:00

Bangladesh stopped dozens of Myanmar security personnel from crossing into its territory to flee advancing rebel forces, a local government official based near their river border said Tuesday.

Clashes have rocked Myanmar's western frontiers since the Arakan Army attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since the country's 2021 military coup.

Hundreds of Myanmar troops have taken refuge in India and Bangladesh since then, usually staying for days or weeks before being repatriated on junta-organised flights.

But on Sunday at least 66 members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police were sent back immediately while trying to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh.

'The Border Guard Police members wanted to enter Teknaf on two boats. The coast guard prevented their entry,' Mujibur Rahman, a councillor of Bangladesh's southeastern border town of Teknaf,

There was no immediate comment from either Bangladesh's coast guard or Myanmar junta representatives.

A Teknaf-based journalist who took photographs of the boats said the vessels came close to a pier in the town but were pushed back towards Myanmar later in the night.

'Some of them were not wearing any shirts,' he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Months of fierce fighting in Myanmar have seen steady advances by the Arakan Army in the western state of Rakhine, piling further pressure on the junta as it battles opponents elsewhere in the country.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders last month announced it was halting all activities near the state's border with Bangladesh due to an 'extreme escalation of conflict' in the area.

Bangladesh has accepted more than 850 fleeing Myanmar soldiers this year, a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

'We have already handed over 752 of them to Myanmar,' he said, adding around 100 border police and troops were waiting to be repatriated.

Bangladesh is home to around one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled Rakhine in 2017 after a military crackdown now the subject of a genocide investigation at a UN court.​

 

[Saif]

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thefinancialexpress.com.bd

সেন্টমার্টিনে ট্রলার লক্ষ্য করে মিয়ানমার থেকে গুলি
কক্সবাজার প্রতিনিধি
Published :
Jul 17, 2024 22:45
Updated :
Jul 17, 2024 22:45

মিয়ানমারের সংঘাতের কারণে সৃষ্ট পরিস্থিতিতে বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরের বিকল্প নৌপথ ব্যবহার করে সেন্টমার্টিন থেকে টেকনাফে আসা দু'টি ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণের ঘটনা ঘটেছে।

বুধবার (১৭ জুলাই) দুপুর ২টার দিকে টেকনাফের শাহপরীরদ্বীপ বদরমোকাম এলাকা অতিক্রমের সময় ট্রলার দু'টিকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়েছে।

সেন্টমার্টিন সার্ভিস ট্রলার মালিক সমিতির সভাপতি আবদুর রশিদ এ তথ্য নিশ্চিত করেছেন।

তিনি জানান, দুপুর ১২টার দিকে সেন্টমার্টিন ঘাট থেকে ৭৫ জন যাত্রী নিয়ে টেকনাফের উদ্দেশ্যে যাত্রা দেয় এফবি নাইম ও এফবি রাশেদ নামের দুইটি ট্রলার। একসঙ্গে যাত্রা দেয়া ট্রলার দু'টি বিকল্প নৌপথ ব্যবহার করে বঙ্গোপসাগর অতিক্রম করে নাফনদীর মোহনায় প্রবেশ করছিল বেলা ২টার দিকে। এই সময় মিয়ানমারের অংশ থেকে একের পর এক গুলি বর্ষণ শুরু করা হয়। ট্রলার চালকরা কৌশলে ট্রলার চালিয়ে গেলেও টানা আধা ঘন্টা ধরে ট্রলার দুটিকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়। এতে কোন যাত্রী হতাহত না হলেও ট্রলারে গুলি লেগেছে। আড়াইটার দিকে ট্রলার দু'টি নিরাপদে শাহপরীরদ্বীপের জেটিতে অবতরণের সুযোগ হয়েছে। ট্রলারগুলো পৌঁছানো পর্যন্ত ওপার থেকে টানা গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়।

আবদুর রশিদ বলেন, মিয়ানমার থেকে দূরে বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরের এলাকায় ট্রলার দু'টি চলাচল করছিল। এরপরও মিয়ানমার থেকে গুলি বর্ষণ করায় চালক সহ দ্বীপবাসীর মনে নতুন করে আতঙ্ক তৈরি হয়েছে।

কারা গুলি করেছে এমন প্রশ্নের উত্তরে তিনি বলেন, যতটুকু জানা গেছে মিয়ানমারের ওপারের অংশটি নাইক্ষ্যংদিয়া এলাকা আরাকান আর্মির নিয়ন্ত্রণে। এরাই গুলি করেছে।

টেকনাফ উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা (ইউএনও) মো. আদনান চৌধুরী বলেন, মিয়ানমার থেকে সেন্টমার্টিনের দু'টি ট্রলারে আবারও গুলি বর্ষণের বিষয়টি জেনেছি। এ ব্যাপারে উধ্বর্তন মহলকে অবহিত করা হয়েছে। উধ্বর্তন মহলের সিদ্ধান্তের পর পরবর্তী ব্যবস্থা নেওয়া হবে।

এর আগে মিয়ানমারে চলমান সংঘাতের জেরে ১ জুন বিকালে টেকনাফ থেকে সেন্টমার্টিনের উদ্দেশে রওনা হওয়া পণ্যসহ ১০ যাত্রীর এক ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে নাইক্ষ্যংদিয়া এলাকা থেকে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়। এছাড়া ৫ জুন সেন্টমার্টিনের স্থগিত হওয়া একটি কেন্দ্রে টেকনাফ উপজেলা পরিষদের ভাইস চেয়ারম্যান পদের ফলাফল নির্ধারণের জন্য ভোট গ্রহণ হয়। আনুষ্ঠানিকতা শেষে ফেরার পথে দায়িত্বরত ম্যাজিস্ট্রেটসহ নির্বাচন সংশ্লিষ্ট কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে একই পয়েন্টে ফের গুলি করা হয়। ৮ জুন আরও এক ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি করা হয় একই পয়েন্টে।

সর্বশেষ ১১ জুন একটি স্পিড বোটকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলিবর্ষণ হয়। প্রতিটি গুলিবর্ষণের ঘটনাই বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরীণ জলসীমায় ঘটেছে। গুলিবর্ষণের এসব ঘটনায় হতাহত না হলেও নিরাপত্তার কথা বিবেচনা করে টেকনাফ-সেন্টমার্টিন রুটে নৌযান চলাচল বন্ধ হয়ে যায়। এতে দ্বীপে খাদ্য সংকট ও জরুরি আসা-যাওয়ার ক্ষেত্রে প্রতিবন্ধকতা তৈরি হয়।

১২ জুন কক্সবাজার জেলা প্রশাসনের জরুরি সভায় বঙ্গোপসাগরকে ব্যবহার করে যাত্রীদের আসা-যাওয়া ও পণ্য নিয়ে যাওয়ার সিদ্ধান্ত হয়। ১৩ জুন থেকে টেকনাফের সাবরাং মুন্ডার ডেইল উপকূল ব্যবহার করে শুরু হয় যাত্রীদের আসা-যাওয়া। ১৪ জুন কক্সবাজার শহর থেকে দ্বীপে পণ্য নিয়ে যায় জাহাজ। আর বিকল্প পথ হিসেবে শাহপরীরদ্বীপ ও সেন্টমার্টিনে সীমিত পরিসরে কিছু নৌযান চালানোর সিদ্ধান্ত হয়।

এরপর থেকে কিছু দিন পর পর বিকল্প নৌপথটি ব্যবহার করে সেন্টমার্টিনের আসা যাওয়া চলে আসছিল।

দুপুরের গুলিবর্ষণের ঘটনা নিয়ে বিজিবি ও কোস্টগার্ডের কোনো বক্তব্য পাওয়া যায়নি।​

 

[Saif]

Myanmar junta, ethnic group claim control of military regional HQ

Myanmar’s junta and an ethnic minority armed group both claimed on Thursday they were in control of a town and regional military command in northern Shan state following days of clashes...

www.newagebd.net

Myanmar junta, ethnic group claim control of military regional HQ
Agence France-Presse . Yangon 26 July, 2024, 00:07

Myanmar's junta and an ethnic minority armed group both claimed on Thursday they were in control of a town and regional military command in northern Shan state following days of clashes.

Fighting has rocked the town of Lashio, home to the military's northeastern command, since July 3 when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against junta troops.

Local media run by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army reported the group 'fully captured the headquarters of the Northeast Military command in Lashio' on Thursday morning and also captured Lashio town, home to around 150,000 people.

MNDAA spokesman Li Jiawen said the group's fighters had captured Lashio, without giving further details.

But junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told reporters the claim was 'not true'.

'The insurgents infiltrated the outskirts of Lashio so (the security forces) have been following and clearing them,' he said, without giving details.

The northeastern command is located in the north of Lashio.

A video uploaded to social media with a caption saying it was shot in Lashio on Thursday morning showed deserted streets with no soldiers in sight.

AFP reporters geolocated the video to a site in the town around two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the command.

Northern Shan state has been rocked by fighting since late last month when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against the military along the highway to China's Yunnan province.

The clashes have shredded a Beijing-brokered truce that in January halted a campaign by the alliance of the Arakan Army (AA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the MNDAA.

The military has carried out several air strikes around the town during the fighting, according to residents.

Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting, according to the junta and local rescue groups.

Neither the junta nor the ethnic alliance have released figures on their own casualties.

Indonesia's foreign minister on Thursday slammed the junta's unwillingness to engage with a regional peace plan to resolve the conflict, speaking after meeting her Singaporean counterpart on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers meeting in Laos.

Both Singapore and Indonesia have been critical of the junta's power grab, which has divided the 10-member ASEAN bloc.

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' (PDFs) that have sprung up to battle the military after the coup in 2021.

China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with armed ethnic groups in Myanmar that hold territory near its border.

Beijing was 'paying close attention to the situation in northern Myanmar' and urged a halt to the fighting, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference on Thursday.

It had also urged relevant parties 'to not endanger the safety of China's borders and border residents, as well as Chinese projects, firms, and personnel in Myanmar', she said.

Three people had been killed and 10 wounded in military air strikes on the MNDAA-held city of Laukkai on the border with China this week, MNDAA's Li Jiawen said, adding that the wounded included three Chinese nationals.

The armed group captured Laukkai in January after around 2,000 junta troops surrendered, in one of the military's biggest single defeats in decades.​

 

[Saif]

ASEAN iterates concern over Myanmar conflicts

A joint communique released by ASEAN on Saturday expressed the bloc’s ‘deep concern over the escalation of conflicts’ in member-state Myanmar...

www.newagebd.net

ASEAN iterates concern over Myanmar conflicts
Agence France-Presse . Vientiane 28 July, 2024, 00:38

A joint communique released by ASEAN on Saturday expressed the bloc's 'deep concern over the escalation of conflicts' in member-state Myanmar.

The country has been ravaged by violence since the military seized power in 2021, sparking renewed fighting with established ethnic minority armed groups and dozens of newer 'People's Defence Forces'.

ASEAN has spearheaded so far unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, with a five-point peace plan agreed between the junta and the bloc now moribund.

The five-point consensus 'remains our main reference to address the political crisis,' the joint communique said.

Myanmar's junta has been banned from high-level ASEAN summits over its coup and crackdown on dissent, in which rights groups say it may have committed war crimes.

Two senior bureaucrats represented Myanmar at the Laos talks.

The military's readiness to re-engage with ASEAN diplomatically was a 'sign of the junta's weakened position', a Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP earlier this week.

Australia's foreign minister on Saturday called on Myanmar's junta to 'take a different path' from its bloody crackdown on dissent, saying the situation in the war-torn country is 'not sustainable'.

Penny Wong made the comments at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting, where the crisis in ASEAN member Myanmar has divided the bloc.

The country was plunged into a civil war after the military seized power in a coup in 2021.

Weeks after it seized power and launched a crackdown on dissent the junta agreed to a five-point peace plan with ASEAN but has failed to implement it.

'Myanmar is deeply concerning, we see it in the economy, instability, insecurity, deaths,' Wong told journalists at a press conference.

'The message I want to send to the military regime is 'this is not sustainable for you and your people'.'

'We urge them to take a different path and reflect the five-point consensus.'

The junta has been barred from high-level ASEAN meetings over its crackdown on dissent.

It had previously refused to send 'non-political representatives' but two senior bureaucrats are representing the country at the talks in Vientiane.

A Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity earlier this week that the military's readiness to re-engage diplomatically was a sign of its 'weakened position'.

In recent weeks ethnic minority armed groups have renewed an offensive against the military in northern Shan state, seizing territory along a vital highway to China.

Myanmar's generals have yet to make any meaningful counterattack following a previous offensive by ethnic armed groups in October that seized swaths of territory along the border with China.

The losses triggered rare public criticism of its top leadership.

ASEAN has spearheaded diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis but with little success.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have called for tougher action against the junta, while Thailand has held its own bilateral talks with the generals as well as detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The conflict in Myanmar has forced 2.7 million people from their homes since the coup in 2021, according to the United Nations.​

 

[Saif]

Bullets from other side of border hit houses in Teknaf

en.prothomalo.com

Bullets from other side of border hit houses in Teknaf
Staff Correspondent &
Correspondent Cox's Bazar and Teknaf
Updated: 29 Jul 2024, 13: 05

The photo shows the Teknaf border in Cox's Bazar.File photo

Bullets fired from Myanmar have created panic among the people living along the bordering areas of Teknaf, Cox's Bazar amid the intense conflict on the other side of the border.

Intense firings and explosions of mortar shells have taken place in the border area of Mongdu of Rakhine state since early Saturday.

At least 188 mortar shells exploded in the last 28 hours till 8:00am on Sunday.

Added to this were bullets fired from Myanmar hitting houses in several bordering villages, leaving the people in a state of fear. However, no causality was reported.

The Mongdu township is opposite Teknaf's Sadar and Subrang unions, and Naf river, which is four kilometres wide, separates Bangladesh from Myanmar. Fight has been on between the pro-independence armed group Arakan Army (AA) and the junta forces over the last five months.

According to Sadar union parishad chairman Ziaur Rahman and Subrang union parishad chairman Nur Hossain, mortar shells and grenades exploded all of a sudden around 4:00am on Saturday after a break of five days. Sound of explosions was heard from 10-12 bordering villages intermittently until 8:00am on Sunday with bullets fired from rifles in Myanmar landing in this side of the border, causing a rise in panic among people.

Four bullets from Myanmar fell in Shah Parir Diwip of Subrang union on 21 July. Two of those bullets landed in front of the shop owned by certain Hossain Ali in the Jetty Ghat area, once in the houseyard of certain Mohamamd Idris in Bazarpara area and the remaining one fell on the pillar of the homestead of Mohammad Ayas in Bazarpara.

Mohamamd Idris and Mohammad Ayas said two bullets fell between 8:00am and 8:30am, and had anyone been on the spot, they might have been hurt. People are afraid of coming out of their homes fearing more bullets.

Amir Hossain, 55, is a fisherman from Jaliapara of Shah Parir Diwip. He said at least 500 fishermen from this area cannot fish in Naf river. There is no alternative income source either. Meanwhile, the fight is intensifying in Rakhine. People from the fishing village are worried about what they will do if the situation does not improve. According to these chairmen, bullets mostly fell on the Bangladesh side of Naf river, nearby shrimp enclosures and mangrove forests.

Four bullets also fell in Mistrypara area of Shah Parir Diwip on Saturday. On information, members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) came to the spot and recovered the bullet shells.

Saying that people cannot move freely, Subrang union parishad member Abdus Salam added, "We live near in the bordering area and we are passing time in a constant state of fear. Everything can be seen from this side of the border. Till today, people were frightened of the sound of explosions, and bullets from other sider have become a new fear now."

Prothom Alo could not reach BGB Teknaf-2 battalion commander and Coast Guard's Teknaf station commander for comment after several attempts. Officials of both agencies have been reluctant to talk to media about the border situation since the beginning.

However, Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Adnan Chowdhury confirmed the bullets crossing over the border. He said he learned that bullets fired from Myanmar fell in several places of Shah Parir Diwip. Explosions also took place in Rakhine state. Each village along the Teknaf border has been brought under special monitoring. Besides, people are being alerted about safety, he added.​

 

[Saif]

Junta extends state of emergency by six months in Myanmar

Myanmar’s junta extended the state of emergency by six months on Wednesday, delaying fresh polls it has promised to hold as it battles opposition to its coup.

www.newagebd.net

Junta extends state of emergency by six months in Myanmar
Agence France-Presse . Yangon 31 July, 2024, 18:26

This photo taken on July 3, 2024 shows members of ethnic minority armed group Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) preparing their weapons amid clashes with Myanmar's military in Kyaukme in Myanmar's northern Shan State. | AFP photo

Myanmar's junta extended the state of emergency by six months on Wednesday, delaying fresh polls it has promised to hold as it battles opposition to its coup.

The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the February 2021 coup which ended a 10-year experiment with democracy and sparked mass protests and a crackdown on dissent.

Three years and a half years later, the junta is struggling to crush widespread armed opposition and recently suffered a series of stunning losses to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups.

The junta had been unable to hold fresh polls as planned following an initial two-year state of emergency 'due to the terrorist acts' by its opponents, broadcaster MRTV reported.

All the members of the junta-stacked National Defence and Security Council 'unanimously decided to extend the period of the state of emergency for another six months,' MRTV said.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing had proposed the extension 'in order to prepare valid and accurate ballots' for the election the junta has promised to hold, possibly in 2025.

The extension was also needed to 'carry out the population census and in order to continue the implementation of the work to be done,' MRTV said.

Under the military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the junta has said is still in force, authorities are required to hold fresh elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted.

The military seized power after making unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the 2020 elections which Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide.

It has extended the state of emergency multiple times since as it battles established ethnic minority armed groups and newer pro-democracy 'People's Defence Forces'.

In recent months it has suffered a string of battlefield defeats to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups in the north and west of the country.

Last week the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) claimed it had seized the northern town of Lashio, which sits on a vital trade highway to China and is home to the military's northeastern command.

The junta denied the claim.

The loss of Lashio and the regional military command would be a huge blow to the junta, which has lost territory to the MNDAA and other armed groups in recent weeks.

In January the MNDAA captured the city of Laukkai near Myanmar's border with China after around 2,000 junta troops surrendered, in one of the military's biggest defeats in decades.

Since the coup fighting between the military and its opponents has forced 2.7 million people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

More than 5,400 people have been killed and 27,000 arrested in the junta's crackdown on dissent since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

The junta has said it will hold fresh elections in 2025.

But critics say the proposed polls will be neither free nor fair.

Last year the junta-stacked election commission announced that Suu Kyi's NLD would be dissolved for failing to re-register under a tough new military-drafted electoral law.​