Rebel group takes key Myanmar border town, rare earth mining hub in setback for military regime

A rebel group has taken over a key trading town in northeastern Myanmar on the Chinese border, seizing control of a lucrative rare earth mining hub in a blow to the military-led government, witnesses report.

The capture of Kanpaiti by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) leaves Myanmar’s military with only one town with a border crossing, Muse, and deprives it of potential profits from the rare earth mines that supply China with essential minerals for various industries.

Reports indicate that Kanpaiti fell last week, although neither the KIA spokesperson nor the military spokesperson responded to requests for comment. Video clips on social media show a KIA member raising the group’s flag at the tunnel to China and a large quantity of weapons captured by the KIA.

Since seizing power in February 2021, the military has faced intensified fighting with armed militias from ethnic minority groups. The Tatmadaw has suffered defeats in various regions, including near the Chinese border and in Rakhine state. The KIA, along with other ethnic militias, has joined the conflict.

In Kachin’s Special Region 1, the KIA has been increasing attacks on a rival militia, the New Democratic Army-Kachin, which controlled the rare earth mining operations in the area. The loss of revenue from these mines may impact the military government, but it is not a game-changer in the overall conflict.

China has tried to broker a ceasefire in the region, but hostilities have resumed. The KIA’s recent advances in Kachin have forced government troops to flee into China and then back into Myanmar.

The KIA now controls Kanpaiti and is urging residents to return. Reports of regime soldiers fleeing to safety have been confirmed by local sources.