Myanmar junta bombs opposition-held town hours after talks offer 

YANGON, Sept 27: Myanmar's junta carried out fresh air strikes on an opposition-held town Friday, hours after issuing an unprecedented invitation to its enemies for talks on the country's civil war. 

Thursday's surprise call for discussions was likely a sop to main ally China and a nudge towards controversial fresh elections, analysts said, and two prominent armed groups swiftly dismissed it. 

The offer came with the junta reeling from battlefield reverses to ethnic minority armed groups and pro-democracy "People's Defence Forces" that rose up to oppose the military's seizure of power in 2021.
The groups have seized several lucrative border crossings and last month took Lashio, a city of 150,000 people -- the biggest urban centre to fall to rebels since 1962.     —AFP