300-member resistance organisation splits from Myanmar’s National Unity Government, joins Mon group

A Mon State-based armed group previously commanded by the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG) announced on Monday that it had allied itself with the Mon Liberation Army (MLA) upon separating from the NUG. The Galon Column, an anti-junta group with a membership of around 300 fighters, said in a public statement that the new alliance with the MLA had been in effect since February 1. Resistance sources said that the Galon Column, which had previously operated as part of the NUG’s armed wing in the Southern Military Region, withdrew from the chain of command after receiving orders to send fighters to eastern Bago Region.The withdrawal reportedly occurred with the NUG’s approval. In the public statement issued on Monday, representatives of the Galon Column said the group preferred to be based in Mon State and would now operate under the command of the MLA. The Galon Column will continue to fight alongside anti-junta ethnic armed groups to bring down the military dictatorship in other states and regions, the spokespersons added.According to sources connected with the NUG’s armed wing, the People’s Defence Forces (PDF), the column has its own training facilities, drone unit, communications unit, and the capacity to produce weapons. They added that the strength of the MLA will increase substantially due to the alliance with the Galon Column’s 300 armed personnel. The PDF, which were formed to resist the 2021 military coup throughout Myanmar after the newly installed regime cracked down violently on peaceful protesters, are commanded by the defence ministry of the NUG, a cabinet of ministers formed and endorsed by ousted civilian members of parliament following the coup. The Galon Column is headed by Ah Thar Maung, with Nai Soe Win serving as deputy commander, Nai Maga as deputy chief of staff, and Banya Min Kan Si as head of the general staff office. Although they are not of Mon ethnicity themselves, the Galon Column’s leaders—former members of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front—have maintained strong links with anti-junta ethnic armed groups in and near Mon State, according to veteran Mon journalist Lawi Weng. Allying with the Galon Column is therefore likely to help the MLA make valuable connections with other anti-junta groups, Lawi Weng told Myanmar Now. “They have strong connections with the revolution,” he said. “Now that Ko Soe Win’s Galon Column has joined the MLA, I think their relations with other revolutionary groups will improve. The MLA hasn’t had very good relations with other groups before now.” The MLA, not to be confused with the older group Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), first formed in September 2022. According to Lawi Weng, the group is most active in the valley of the Gyaing River, which flows through Karen (Kayin) and Mon states. Its members received training from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a member of the Brotherhood Alliance that scored a series of victories against junta forces in northern Shan State in 2023 and 2024. Lt-Col Tar Hsi Lay of the TNLA attended a graduation ceremony for Galon Column trainees in Kyondo Township, Karen State in July 2024, as well as addressing an MLA graduating class at one of their training camps in August. The MLA is one of the four groups that cooperated to form the Ramanya Joint Column last month, along with the Mon State Defence Force, the Mon State Revolutionary Force, and the faction of the MNLA that operates as the armed wing of the New Mon State Party Anti-Military Dictatorship (NMSP-AD) Spokespersons for the Ramanya Joint Column said at the time that its plans were to escalate military operations in Mon State, with the possible, eventual aim of forming a united Mon army. Speaking with Myanmar Now, a Mon political analyst noted that the Galon Column, whose fighters are mostly of Mon background, has worked closely with the MLA for some time and confirmed that the new alliance with the MLA would strengthen the Ramanya Joint Column. “Mon revolutionary forces are becoming stronger in Mon territory,” he said. “Their objective in this unification is to fight the military council. Since they’re just starting to combine, they’ll need to be more disciplined in their rules and regulations. In my view, there will be more battles, but their operations are likely to improve.”

300-member resistance organisation splits from Myanmar’s National Unity Government, joins Mon group

Fighters of the Galon Column have joined the command structure of the Mon Liberation Army (MLA), an ally of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), rather than comply with the National Unity Government’s orders to redeploy to Bago Region

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