The relatives of civil servants and military soldiers have been packing up and leaving a scenic hill town in central Myanmar that’s home to the junta’s top military service academy ahead of an anticipated battle, residents said.
Following several recent key victories, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and allied anti-junta militias are expected to begin an offensive for control of Pyin Oo Lwin in the Mandalay region.
Pyin Oo Lwin, home of the military’s Defense Services Academy, is just 64 kilometers (40 miles) along a major highway from Mandalay city, the capital of the region and Myanmar’s second-largest city.
“Family members of civil servants have been sent to Mandalay and Naypyidaw,” a resident told Radio Free Asia on condition of anonymity. “The locals are worried.”
Merchants in the city’s main market have also removed goods from their shelves, the resident said.
Earlier this week, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, captured the headquarters of two junta battalions and the junta's Operation Command Headquarters No. 1 in Kyaukme, a town on Highway 3, the main road to China.
The TNLA and Mandalay People’s Defense Force troops are also in control of Nawnghkio township, which is just 56 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Pyin Oo Lwin on the highway.
Junta troops on Thursday put up a checkpoint on the highway to restrict the transport of food and other commodities between Pyin Oo Lwin and Nawnghkio, residents said.
A military analyst who requested anonymity for security reasons told RFA that an attack on Pyin Oo Lwin may not begin for another month.
“The remaining troops in Nawnghkio are still being cleared,” he said. “And the resistance forces aren’t ready to continue fighting for Pyi Oo Lwin, as they are now too tired from previous battles.”
Family members released in Lashio
RFA attempted to contact TNLA information officer Lway Yay Oo about the upcoming offensive against Pyi Oo Lwin, but he didn’t immediately respond.
RFA was unable to reach Thein Htay, the junta’s spokesperson and economic minister in Mandalay region, to ask about the relocation of residents and family members from Pyin Oo Lwin.
The TNLA and Mandalay PDF have been fighting alongside each other since late October 2023.
The TNLA has also teamed up with the Arakan Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, as part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance.
The alliance launched an offensive last October, codenamed Operation 1027, that pushed back junta forces in several regions, including along northeastern Myanmar’s border with China.
It resumed attacks in Shan state and Mandalay region in late June following the lifting of a ceasefire.
Earlier this week, the MNDAA captured the junta's main military headquarters for northeastern Myanmar in Lashio.
MNDAA troops have been releasing children, women and elderly relatives of junta soldiers who were captured over the last week during the fight for Lashio, according to a source in Lashio who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Among them were 385 who were released on Tuesday, 445 on Wednesday and 308 on Thursday, the source said.
The MNDAA announced on Wednesday that released persons were given 50,000 kyat (US$10) to cover expenses to leave Lashio and return to their hometowns.
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed.