Updated July 11, 2024, 3:04 p.m. ET
An alliance of insurgent forces battling to end army rule has captured a major town in northern Myanmar, a spokesperson for the main group told Radio Free Asia, in the latest setback for the junta that seized power in a 2021 military coup.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, and allied forces seized the last base in Shan state’s Nawnghkio town from junta troops on Wednesday, after two weeks of fighting, the spokesperson said.
“We were able to capture the junta’s missile battalion in Nawnghkio town at around 3 p.m.,” the spokesperson told RFA.
The junta has not released any information on the battle, and Shan state’s junta spokesperson, Khun Thein Maung, did not answer inquiries from RFA.
The TNLA, which is part of an alliance of three ethnic minority insurgent forces known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance, ended a five-month ceasefire with the junta on June 25.
Since then, the group has been fighting for territory in Shan state's Nawnghkio, Kyaukme, Mongmit and Hsipaw townships, as well as in Mandalay region's Mogoke township. The alliance has since claimed to have captured at least 26 bases across the north.
The alliance launched an offensive last October, codenamed Operation 1027 for the date it began, and pushed back junta forces in several regions, including along northeastern Myanmar’s border with China.
Insurgent forces in other parts of the country have stepped up their attacks since then too, posing the biggest challenge the military has faced in years of conflict.
China, concerned about its economic interests, according to Myanmar sources, brokered peace talks in Shan state in January that brought a halt to the conflict there. But the truce collapsed late last month and fighting has surged since then.
Nawnghkio, about 85 km (52 miles) northeast of Mandalay, is on the main road between Myanmar’s second city and the Chinese border. The insurgents are also trying to capture Lashio, the main city in northern Shan state, which is about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Nawnghkio.
Retaliation by air
TNLA spokeswoman Lway Yay Oo said Nawnghkio was captured by fighters from the TNLA, the Palaung State Liberation Front, Mandalay People’s Defense Force and Danu People’s Liberation Army.
The insurgents captured several junta administrative offices and 10 military bases around the city including the headquarters of three battalions, along with 600 weapons, the groups said in a joint statement.
The insurgents posted pictures on social media of their fighters with a captured multiple rocket launcher, two double barrel anti-aircraft guns, as well as rows of captured rifles and other weapons.
Junta retaliation has been fierce, with its forces launching more than 100 airstrikes in Nawnghkio town, the TNLA said. None of the insurgent groups released any figures for casualties amongst their forces.
Ten residents of the town were killed and nine were wounded, the TNLA said, adding that nine houses and two monasteries were destroyed.
The group blamed the deaths on the junta’s heavy weapons, but RFA wasn’t able to confirm this independently.
Nawnghkio has a population of more than 16,000 people but most have fled because of the fighting, residents said.
A TNLA spokesperson confirmed to RFA last week that China recently pressured the group to stop its recent renewed offensive.
But political analyst Than Soe Naing told RFA this week that Beijing is unlikely to press very hard for another ceasefire.
“China doesn’t like the junta,” he said. “The Chinese government hasn’t recognized the leaders of the junta. Therefore, if the junta was removed from power, China would support the remaining forces so as to not affect its interests in Myanmar.”
‘The offensives are getting closer’
Rebel forces have also begun an attack on junta outposts in Mandalay region’s Singu and Madaya townships, which are directly north of Mandalay city, according to Maung Maung Swe of the shadow National Unity Government.
Singu is about 88 km (55 miles) north of Mandalay while Madaya is just 40 km (25 miles) north of the city along a highway that connects Mandalay to Bhamo in Kachin state.
“The Shan-Mann (Mandalay) Operation has begun to penetrate into Mandalay which is the gateway to the central plain area,” Maung Maung Swe said.
Insurgents this week said they have captured 11 junta outposts in Singu township and 25 outposts in Madaya township, according to Osmond, a spokesperson for the Mandalay People’s Defense Force, or the MDY-PDF.
“Clear targets and military objectives have been made by our forces and the allied ethnic armed groups,” he said. “We are implementing our mission step-by-step.”
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Maung Maung Swe added that junta troops have been ineffective on the ground and have mostly responded to the offensive with airstrikes and artillery attacks.
National junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told state-owned newspapers on Wednesday that special attention would be paid to ensuring the safety of civilians in the renewed fighting.
If junta troops can’t stop the MDY-PDF and their allied forces in Singu and Madaya, then insurgents will move their offensive southward toward Mandalay city, according to a former military officer, who asked not to be named for security reasons.
“The offensives are getting closer, and they would attack Mandalay at least,” he said. “If it cannot be controlled, the battle will reach Mandalay.”
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
This has been updated with details from fighting in Singu and Madaya townships.