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 November, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment