BANGKOK: Units of an ethnic militia in eastern Myanmar that is nominally part of the military have switched sides, allying themselves with the Southeast Asian country's pro-democracy movement, and have carried out attacks in recent weeks on army outposts and a police station, its members said.

The two Border Guard Forces units in Kayah state are believed to be the first army-affiliated militia units to change sides since the military seized power from the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021.