Updated Dec. 19, 2023, at 9:05 a.m. ET
One of Myanmar’s powerful anti-junta armies has seized a key border gate from the military in a self-administered part of eastern Shan state, residents told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army – or MNDAA – occupied the Yanlonkyaing (Yan Long Zhai) border trade gate in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone’s Laukkaing township on Monday.
The MNDAA is part of an alliance of three ethnic rebel groups that have waged an offensive, dubbed Operation 1027, that began in late October and has heralded the most serious military setbacks for Myanmar's ruling junta since it took power in a coup in February 2021.
A Laukkaing resident told RFA he heard gunshots near the border gate on Monday morning.
“I heard continuous shots from [the Myanmar] side of Yanlonkyaing gate Monday,” said the man who didn’t want to be identified for fear of reprisals.
“The gate was seized in the morning. That was the only place left and [MNDAA troops] are saying there are no more places left to capture. I do not hear the sound of gunfire anymore.”
A source with knowledge of the military situation, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said junta troops and affiliated militias had surrendered.
A video of the MNDAA providing cash assistance to those who surrendered – seen by RFA Burmese – was posted on social media by the group.
Shan state-based media outlets have also reported that the Yanlonkyaing border gate was captured by MNDAA forces.
RFA tried to contact MNDAA Kokang spokesman Li Kyarwen but did not receive a reply at time of publication Tuesday.
The junta has not released any statement regarding the incident.
Updated to add background.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.