Myanmar junta declares martial law in town after attacks on bank, police

Myanmar’s junta has declared martial law in a town in Chin State after blaming “armed terrorists” for attacks on a police station and a bank, state media reported on Friday, amid an upsurge in fighting between the military and ethnic rebels in border areas.

In the face of widespread opposition, the junta has struggled to retain order amid daily protests in cities and fighting in border states since overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end tentative steps towards democracy.

The unrest in the town of Mindat on Wednesday and Thursday involved about 100 people using homemade guns to attack a police station and about 50 targeting the Myanmar Economic Bank, the state Myanmar News Agency reported.