Myanmar junta captures town, expanding election writ

Myanmar’s junta said on Wednesday its troops had captured a key town in the east after a 16-day battle, clawing back rebel-contested territory as it prepares for a disputed December election.

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Demoso, 105 kilometres (65 miles) east of the capital Naypyidaw, has witnessed intense fighting since the military’s overthrow of the democratic government in 2021 sparked a civil war.

The embattled junta plans to hold elections in areas it controls starting on December 28, and has been pressing a series of counteroffensives to expand the territory it holds.

The polls have been criticised by international monitors as a tactic to rebrand the rule of the military, which has kept democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi jailed since ousting her.