Anti-junta forces capture operations command headquarters in Hsenwi as fighting intensifies in, near northern Shan State

Amid intensifying clashes in northern Shan State, the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed organisations now claims to have captured the town of Kutkai and the Hsenwi (Hseni)-based 16th military operations command (MOC-16) headquarters. Anti-junta fighters succeeded in taking control of the hill base in Hsenwi’s Ward 1, where the MOC-16 headquarters is located, at around 11pm on Sunday evening, said a spokesperson for the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the Brotherhood Alliance’s members. “Yesterday, our forces were able to infiltrate and capture the Tactical Hill base but we are unable to give further details at this time," TNLA spokesperson Lt.-Col. Tar Aik Kyaw said, referring to the base where the MOC-16 headquarters is located. “Events are still unfolding and we’re still uncertain about some matters, but the military’s forces are completely gone.” Tar Aik Kyaw added that the TNLA had initiated area clearing operations after taking the MOC-16 headquarters on Tactical Hill—the usual procedure after capturing new territory—and said the group would release further details soon. Although the TNLA and Brotherhood Alliance claim to have captured the MOC-16, it remains unclear whether they have taken full control of the town of Hsenwi. TNLA forces had fought alongside their allies in the ethnically Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) through the last week of December, seizing army outposts in northern Shan State’s Kutkai Township as well as the headquarters of junta-trained militias in the small town of Tarmoenye, and Ward 8 in Kutkai’s urban centre. Soon after capturing the Myanmar Army’s MOC-16 headquarters in Hsenwi, the anti-junta alliance also claims to have taken over the town of Kutkai in its entirety. According to a TNLA statement, TNLA and MNDAA forces jointly took over army bases as well as four temporary outposts over the course of a weeklong battle, ultimately managing to seize a large cache of weapons from the retreating junta forces. Members of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—the armed wing of the Communist Party of Burma—also reportedly took part in the clashes in and near Hsenwi. The PLA’s principal bases are in the Kokang region of northern Shan State, within territory now under the control of the MNDAA. They have taken part in Operation 1027 campaign since its launch and also maintain an active presence in Sagaing and Ayeyarwady regions. The PLA released a statement claiming to have participated in attacks on the MOC-16 headquarters since January 1, as well as other junta outposts in Hsenwi Township since the start of Operation 1027. PLA fighters had also attacked junta troops stationed outside of Hsenwi near the Namtu River Bridge in Kawng Haw village, the statement said. In addition to fighting for the MOC-16 headquarters, the joint anti-junta forces succeeded in capturing the base of the army’s Infantry Battalion 69 last Thursday, seizing a stockpile of weapons, ammunitions, and supplies, according to the PLA’s statement. All junta troops had withdrawn from Tactical Hill and the MOC-16 headquarters by Saturday, the PLA claimed, leaving the joint anti-junta forces to take effective control of the area in and around the base by 9am the next morning. With the capture of Kutkai and the MOC-16 headquarters in Hsenwi, the Brotherhood Alliance has taken control of strategically important areas throughout most of northern Shan State. Territory remaining under junta control includes the towns of Kyaukme, Hsipaw, and Lashio—northern Shan State’s largest city—all of which are located on the Mandalay-Lashio-Muse highway, a vital overland shipping route for border trade with China. After the TNLA took control of Namhsan and Namtu townships last month, junta forces based in Hsipaw reportedly used explosives to damage bridges between Kyaukme, Hsipaw, and Lashio in a bid to slow the anti-junta forces’ advance. TNLA spokesperson Tar Aik Kyaw said on Sunday that it was not yet possible to confirm reports that Brotherhood Alliance forces were moving towards Lashio. In addition to the fighting in Kutkai and Hsenwi, clashes reportedly occurred in Mongmit and Nawnghkio townships, during which the junta carried out a series of devastating airstrikes. A battle between junta forces and fighters from the TNLA and Mandalay People’s Defence Forces (MDY-PDF) took place in Nawnghkio Township’s Kyauk Me Lay village, only 19 miles from one of the military’s main training academies in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region. "The battle has been going on for about three days in that area, and junta aircraft have been carrying out strikes relentlessly using fighter jets, Y-12 planes, and MI 35 helicopters,” TNLA spokesperson Tar Aik Kyaw said. Three houses in Kyauk Me Lay village reportedly burned to the ground after junta aircraft dropped a pair of 500-pound bombs. Fighting also continued in Mongmit (Momeik) Township, with junta units shelling the villages of Kyankan and Upper Nyaungkone from nearby bases. Although there was no ongoing fighting in Namhsan Township—captured by TNLA fighters last month—five teachers were killed and six other civilians sustained severe injuries when junta air forces reportedly dropped five 500-pound bombs on a village outside the urban centre. Within 73 days after the Brotherhood Alliance’s launch of the Operation 1027 offensive against the military, the TNLA says it has seized more than 70 army outposts. Kutkai is the seventh town in Shan State that has come under the full control of the Ta’ang ethnic armed organisation, after Namhsan, Namkham, Manton, Monglon, Namtu, and Mongngawt. The tripartite Brotherhood Alliance—which includes the Arakan Army (AA) along with the TNLA and MNDAA as members—claims to have overrun hundreds of junta outposts as well as capturing 16 since the start of the offensive. Although the military council rarely gives details on the state of conflict with anti-junta forces in its public statements, junta spokesperson Maj.-Gen. Zaw Min Tun acknowledged the impact of the alliance’s attacks on military bases in November, calling the offensive an “invasion.”

Anti-junta forces capture operations command headquarters in Hsenwi as fighting intensifies in, near northern Shan State

The Brotherhood Alliance was joined by members the PLA, KNDF, and MDY-PDF as it seized the town of Kutkai, took over a military operations command headquarters in Hsenwi, and battled junta forces elsewhere in the state

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