Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing vowed to “annihilate” opponents of the 2021 coup during a speech on Armed Forces Day on Sunday as the army staged a show. 

The annual parade in Naypyidaw featured artillery, tanks, mounted missiles and soldiers on horseback. Hlaing announced that the army will “no longer negotiate and annihilate until the end” the groups that have been violently attempting to overthrow its rule.

The procession also witnessed military jets flying overhead, leaving a vibrant trail of the colours of the national flag. State media featured women standing on the streets leading to the parade ground, offering garlands and flowers to the marching troops.

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On Sunday, Min Aung Hlaing held “foreign aggressors” responsible for working against the army. He called for the defence forces to be in solidarity against “internal and external mischiefs.”

Russia’s vice defence minister, an ally and a major munition supplier, was expected to attend the parade but was unable to do so because of his “country’s affairs”, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun added.

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Meanwhile, in Yangon, over a dozen anti-junta protestors yelled slogans and fired flares, according to videos uploaded on social media. 

Others urged citizens on social media to turn off their lights at their homes for a national “power strike” on the evening of Sunday. 

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The country has been in a state of disorder since a coup in February 2021 led to the killing of 1,700 in crackdowns, according to a local monitoring collective. 

Across Myanmar, combatants of the People’s Defence Force, usually armed with makeshift weapons, regularly engage in clashes with the junta troops. According to a few analysts, the military has had a difficult time in effectively dealing with their hit-and-run tactics.

Aggression has flared in the country since the emergence of ethnic rebel groups along the Chinese and Thai frontier.