Air support, artillery allow junta advance into northern Madaya Township

The Myanmar military has sent units with air and artillery support deeper into Madaya Township north of Mandalay this week, according to locals, resistance sources, and volunteers aiding the displaced. The Mandalay Region People's Defense Force (MDY-PDF), which is active in the township, has been under attack since Monday in villages bordering Singu Township, which lies to Madaya Township’s north, a resistance source told Myanmar Now. "Starting from the evening of the 13th, they have been advancing steadily towards Yone Pin village,” he said, referring to a village some 10 miles northeast of Madaya. “There’s already been some fighting there.” The military has recaptured at least 10 Madaya Township villages from resistance forces including the Mandalay Region People’s Defence Forces (MDY-PDF) in recent days, with junta forces breaking through the resistance defences on their way northward. They have based garrisons in these villages, which were taken after the resistance had held them for more than a year, and have been conducting patrols and clearing operations in surrounding areas. “It wasn’t as though they could capture the entire eastern part,” the same resistance source said, referring to the area of the township where the resistance remained strongest. “Some villages remain. They couldn’t capture areas near Se Taw Gyi. Now they’re continuing to advance northward.” The south end of the Se Taw Gyi Dam reservoir, and the village of Se Taw Gyi, are at the northeast corner of the Madaya Township, east of Yone Pin. Another resistance source in Madaya Township noted that resistance forces would not easily be able to maintain control of the town of Singu—located north of Mandalay on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River—without the control of Thabeikkyin and Madaya townships. "Thabeikkyin is the key. Madaya matters too, but if we can’t get Thabeikkyin back, keeping control of Singu trapped between them will be next to impossible,” he said. The junta has recaptured Thabeikkyin, which is also on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady, north of Singu. The resistance has held Singu since capturing it in July of 2024. The MDY-PDF controlled most of Madaya Township at the beginning of this year, but has since lost ground to the junta forces. While launching a countrywide counteroffensive, the military made manoeuvres in Patheingyi Township near Mandalay earlier this year, regaining some territory in August that was previously lost to resistance forces, including the Phayaung Taung gold mining site and Alpha Cement Factory. With most of Madaya Township now lost to the junta, conditions on the ground are worrying, said a woman from an assistance organisation for displaced people. “Madaya is in a situation where it could be lost. There are fewer than 10 village tracts left in the entire township,” she said, referring to the territory still held by the resistance. “I think they’re working towards elections. Elections could also be held in Madaya.” The junta plans to hold a general election in Myanmar this coming December and January, the legitimacy of which has been dismissed by critics of the regime both domestically and internationally. The military’s counteroffensive is, in part, an attempt to maximise the area of territory where the regime can proceed with the election securely. Junta forces have also been advancing towards the gemstone-mining hub of Mogok, Mandalay Region, and have already advanced as far as the Hpawttaw junction on the Mandalay-Mogok road, around 80 miles north of Mandalay by road and 45 miles west of Mogok, sources said. While some sources indicated that there were a large number of civilian casualties when the junta advanced through the village of Hpawt Taw, Thabeikkyin Township, Myanmar Now was unable to verify this independently. The junta is relying on reinforcements and air support while advancing on Mogok from multiple directions, including from Nawnghkio, northern Shan State as well as from the Hpawt Taw junction in Mandalay Region. Junta forces in northern Shan State, whose counteroffensive campaign has been as aggressive as in neighbouring Mandalay Region, pushed into the town of Hsipaw on Thursday. The total recapture of Hsipaw, which an anti-junta ethnic armed group has been holding for months, appears imminent, and junta assaults on Mogok are likely to follow.

Air support, artillery allow junta advance into northern Madaya Township

Junta forces have been advancing steadily in Mandalay Region as well as northern Shan State, and appear poised to retake most of the territory previously lost to resistance and anti-junta ethnic armed groups

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