"An alliance of ethnic armed groups that has been fighting the Myanmar military in the northeast and west of the country has extended its unilateral ceasefire until the end of this year, it said in a statement on Friday. The alliance comprises the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army (AA). The move came one day ahead of the expiration of the Myanmar military’s own truce on Sept. 21. Observers described the armed groups’ ceasefire extension as a shrewd political move. The groups “gain a political advantage by announcing the ceasefire,” said U Maung Maung Soe, an ethnic affairs analyst. “While we can’t say for sure whether the fighting will totally stop, the military tensions in Rakhine and northern Shan states are easing,” he said. “It is a response to the military truce,” said Dr. Min Zaw Oo, the director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security. Unlike earlier, he said, the groups now seem to “be serious about the ceasefire”, albeit with conditions. It is not yet known whether the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) will extend for a fourth time its truce in five military commands covering Shan and Kachin states. The military declared the truce—which excludes conflict-torn Rakhine State in western Myanmar—on Dec. 21, 2018, and extended it in April, June and August. Sources close to the military expect Rakhine will again be left out, even if the Tatmadaw extends its truce on Saturday..."