Loikaw: Myanmar Pro-Democracy Ethnic Rebels Begin Fight to Take Over State Capital

News Snapshot:

Myanmar pro-democracy fighters in a battered pickup truck drive past abandoned and bombed-out houses in the eastern city of Loikaw, on their way to the front lines of the battle to capture their first state capital from the junta. “Our soldiers are from Loikaw township and it’s the main reason we are motivated. We all are doing our best with the hope of going back to our homes”, said Lin Lin, their leader. He belongs to one of the dozens of “People’s Defence Force” groups (PDFs) that sprung up across Myanmar to fight the military’s 2021 coup and are now...