The Myanmar military accused an ethnic armed group operating in Myanmar’s northeastern Shan state of terrorism and drug trafficking, and warned of all-out war, according to a report by RFA on 23 August.

The message was conveyed by Major General Tun Tun Nyi at a press conference in Nay Pyi Taw in response to the August 15 attacks on military and civilian targets close to Mandalay.

According to the RFA report, the army spokesman said most of the attacks on August  15 were not in military-related places and were “terrorism acts”.

“They were more than terrorist attacks. They were an act of brutality and could be described as a war crime,” he said, adding they tarnished the government and country’s image.

The surprising August 15 attacks by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic Palaung group, and two other ethnic armies, the Arakan Army (AA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), left 15 people dead, including nine soldiers, and an equal number injured.

 issued a strong warning that it is ready to engage in full-blown armed conflict a week after the rebel force and two other ethnic armies conducted coordinated attacks on roads, bridges, and military and police buildings.

Myanmar's Major-General Tun Tun Nyi answers questions from journalists at the Defense Service Museum in Naypyidaw on August 23, 2019. Photo: AFP  

The Aug. 15 attacks by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic Palaung group, and two other ethnic armies — the Arakan Army (AA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) — left 15 people dead, including nine soldiers, and more than a dozen other people injured.

In the days following the violence, the alliance of ethnic armies has carried out additional armed assaults and clashes with Myanmar forces, leaving a few more people dead and forcing thousands of residents to temporarily flee their homes.