Myanmar rebels reject junta’s peace bid

Myanmar’s new military‑backed president has called for peace talks within 100 days, but key rebel groups have already dismissed the offer, underscoring the deep divisions that continue to fuel the country’s civil war.

President Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a coup five years ago, told a government meeting that he wanted armed groups outside the existing ceasefire deal to join negotiations by the end of July. “For groups that have not yet engaged in dialogue and negotiation, we also invite them to participate by the final deadline of July 31,” he said, naming the Karen National Union (KNU), the Chin National Front (CNF) and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front among those targeted.

The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, signed before the 2021 coup, has largely unravelled since the military takeover. The KNU, one of Myanmar’s most influential ethnic organisations, rejected the overture outright. “The KNU has already withdrawn from the NCA since the 2021 coup. We have no plans to return to negotiations or follow the NCA path,” spokesperson Saw Taw Nee said.

The CNF was equally blunt. Its spokesman Salai Htet Ni said the group was fighting for a federal democratic system free from military influence. “Since we are fighting a military‑political battle for this, we have nothing to discuss with those who currently call themselves an ‘administration’ after merely changing their appearance from the military,” he declared.

Myanmar has remained in turmoil since the coup that toppled the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The 80‑year‑old opposition leader has been imprisoned on charges her allies insist are politically motivated, though her sentence was recently reduced by one‑sixth.

The junta’s attempt to rebrand itself as a civilian administration has done little to convince its opponents. With rebel groups refusing to engage, and fighting continuing across multiple regions, the prospect of meaningful peace talks looks remote. For ordinary citizens, weary of conflict and economic hardship, the government’s pledge may sound more like political theatre than a genuine path to reconciliation.

-2026-04-22