The chief of Myanmar’s junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, has called for face-to-face peace talks with the heads of the nation’s many ethnic rebel groups.
Just last month Min Aung Hlaing stated, at a military parade, his intentions to “annihilate” these opposition forces, which include the PDF (People’s Defense Force).
The groups, which number more than twenty, have been clashing with the junta on a daily basis, particularly in border areas, and have been surprisingly successful in these clashes with the better-equipped military junta.
More than 1,700 people have been killed since the coup that put the junta in power.
No date was given for when the talks would take place. At least two ethnic minority groups—the Kachin and the Karen—have indicated that they are not immediately interested in taking the general up on his offer.
Cease-fire agreements have been agreed to in the past.
