Insurgents claim seizure of regional headquarters in northeast Myanmar
But a junta spokesperson denied that the military headquarters in Lashio has fallen.
Updated July 25, 2024, 1:31 pm ET.
A Myanmar insurgent army said it had captured a junta regional military headquarters in an embattled northeastern town on Thursday, which, if confirmed, would be one of the most significant losses for the military in years.
A spokesman for the junta denied the claim by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, that the military headquarters in the town of Lashio had fallen, saying troops were clearing insurgents from Lashio’s outskirts.
“We were fighting for the last half of the headquarters since last night and were able to fully seize it at 4 a.m.,” an MNDAA spokesperson told Radio Free Asia, referring to the headquarters of the Northeastern Regional Command, one of the military’s 14 such commands.
The spokesperson, who declined to be identified for security reasons, did not give any information on casualties but said the MNDAA had captured prisoners without saying how many.
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30,000 civilians trapped by conflict in Myanmar’s Lashio
The MNDAA is a member of a tripartite insurgent force known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance that has made significant gains against junta forces in northeast Myanmar’s Shan state since late last year despite Chinese efforts to broker peace in the region on its border.
Lashio is the main town in northern Shan state, about halfway along the main road link between the city of Mandalay and the Chinese border.
Main junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told state-run media that reports of the capture of Lashio’s military headquarters were false. He said the reported fighting was a “‘clearance operation”’ launched by the junta to expel rebels from near Lashio.
‘Urban conflicts cannot be avoided’
Later on Thursday, a person familiar with the ongoing conflict in Lashio said that MNDAA troops penetrated the junta’s regional headquarters and were finalizing its seizure.
A member of the insurgent force told RFA that they entered the headquarters after taking control of junta outposts around Lashio city step by step.
“Small junta outposts in the surrounding areas were first seized, then the remaining strategic hill was controlled,” he said. “After the junta lost their strategic hill, the regional headquarters was captured.”
MNDAA troops entered the headquarters with only a small number of troops because the junta had deployed its forces elsewhere around the city, according to a person familiar with the battles in Lashio.
“The junta troops are taking positions in the residential areas to fight back longer,” the person said. “Urban conflicts cannot be avoided.”
A Lashio resident who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons said junta troops could still be seen moving around some areas of the city.
“Now there are some junta troops in our ward,” the resident said. “Until morning, all these groups were shopping at the railway station market.”
Thousands of residents have fled from the town in recent weeks and more got out early on Thursday, residents said.
Several charity workers assisting those trapped in the town had been shot, they added.
RFA attempted to reach Shan state’s junta spokesperson Khun Thein Maung for comment, but he did not respond.
TNLA’s Mogoke victory
The MNDAA’s announcement on Lashio came days after another member of the rebel alliance, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, said it had captured the whole of the gem-mining town of Mogoke, 130 km (80 miles) west of Lashio.
The TNLA posted a video on social media of cheering Mogoke residents coming out to welcome its fighters as they entered the town.
Forces of the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup have been facing significant setbacks in different parts of the country since late last year.
The Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar think tank said in a report last month that 10 of the 14 regional military commands were “actively engaged in high-intensity armed conflicts.”
The Three Brotherhood Alliance launched an offensive in late October, codenamed Operation 1027. It has been halted twice by Chinese-brokered ceasefires but the rebels’ largest push began last Friday.
When asked by Reuters at the Chinese Foreign Ministry's regular news conference on Thursday if China could verify the seizure of Lashio, spokesperson Mao Ning said China is closely monitoring the situation in northern Myanmar.
She added that China will continue to support peace talks and urged all parties to end hostilities, resolve disputes peacefully and ensure the security of its borders, as well as the safety of people living in the border area and that of Chinese projects, businesses and personnel in Myanmar.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
This story has been updated with details from Lashio and comments from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
