National Unity Government claims progress in building trust with ethnic armed groups

Cooperation among Myanmar’s anti-junta forces continues to grow but still requires further reinforcement, according to Duwa Lashi La, the acting president of the country’s publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG). Speaking during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he called trust-building with ethnic allies an ongoing process that will require continual effort. “Our government has now established a certain level of trust with ethnic armed groups. However, I don’t think we can consider this sufficient. We must understand that building trust with allies does not end once it is achieved,” he said. During the meeting, which was also attended by Prime Minister Mahn Win Khaing Than and other ministers, he also urged resistance fighters to be ready to serve in any region of the country. “We must recognise that this is not the time to be content with defending our own regions,” he said. “To free the entire country from military dictatorship, we must set aside regionalism and be prepared to carry out revolutionary duties in any region for the benefit of the nation.” His remarks came a day after reports of a Chinese-brokered ceasefire agreement between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic Kokang armed group based in northern Shan State, and Myanmar’s military junta. The NUG, which has declared itself to be “the sole legitimate government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,” coordinates its efforts to end military rule in the country with a number of ethnic armed organisations. Its allies include the Kachin Independence Army, the Karen National Union, the Karenni National Progressive Party, and the Chin National Front. It has also collaborated with the MNDAA and its Brotherhood Alliance allies, the Arakan Army and Ta’ang National Liberation Army. On January 18, the NUG allocated funds to resistance forces in Chin State through both the Interim Chin National Consultative Council and the Chinland Council. Anti-junta groups say they now control more than half of the state, where fierce clashes continue. At a meeting held last week, Duwa Lashi La also expressed his desire to include individuals with strong leadership qualities from allied groups in his cabinet. “I believe that by bolstering our government team with skilled leaders from among our allies, we can expand and advance a revolutionary agenda that exceeds the scope of the current one,” he said. The NUG was established in April 2021 by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which is composed of MPs elected in the 2020 election. Its president, Duwa Lashi La, is ethnic Kachin, and its prime minister, Mahn Win Khaing Than, is Karen. Earlier this month, the NUG announced its intention to establish an office in Sagaing Region to coordinate its activities inside resistance-held territory. In the four years since the 2021 coup, forces under the command of the NUG have captured eight towns in Sagaing and Mandalay regions, while allied groups have seized dozens of others. In its 2024 military progress report, the NUG’s Ministry of Defence states that resistance forces have gained control of 144 townships across the country, with 95 towns fully captured, while fighting continues in 79 townships.

National Unity Government claims progress in building trust with ethnic armed groups

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