Anti-junta group moves quickly to take over administration of captured towns in northern Shan State

With fighting now on hold in northern Shan State after months of clashes, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has begun the task of establishing administrative control over seven towns it has captured since the start of the conflict. The towns—Namhsan, Manton, Namkham, Namtu, Mongngawt, Monglon, and Kutkai—have all fallen to the ethnic Palaung armed group since the launch of a coordinated offensive against Myanmar’s military regime in late October. That offensive was put on pause earlier this month following Chinese-mediated talks between the junta and the three members of the Brotherhood Alliance—the TNLA, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Arakan Army. On January 12, the same day the ceasefire was confirmed, Tar Aik Phone, the chair of the Palaung State Liberation Front—the political wing of the TNLA—marked the 61st Ta’ang Revolution Day with a vow to continue the fight against the regime to the finish. In the meantime, he said, the group would begin setting up its own administration in areas under its control. Six days later, senior TNLA officials were in Kutkai, the last of the seven towns to be captured (falling less than a week before the start of the ceasefire) to survey the recent battle damage and roll out plans for a new administration in an area that includes the two townships of the Palaung Self-Administered Zone created under the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. Ostensibly autonomous, the two townships—Namhsan and Manton—remained under the military’s sway until late last month, when the TNLA finally succeeded in capturing both after nearly two months of fighting. While it is unclear if the group intends to transform its newly acquired territory into another Palaung (Ta’ang) autonomous region, a member of its information team told Myanmar Now that priority would given to ethnic Ta’ang in forming the new administration, while “later on, working with other ethnic people will be considered.” Restoring order According to the TNLA information officer, the ethnic army—with an estimated 10,000 troops under its command—will share the task of running the new liberated area with civil servants who joined the anti-regime Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in the wake of the February 2021 coup. “It will be divided, with some roles going to TNLA soldiers and others to people from the CDM. It will be based on their skills,” she said. Among the jobs to be filled by CDM participants are those of teachers, nurses, doctors, and engineers, while security and administrative duties will be mostly handled by personnel specially trained by the TNLA. “In the interests of the public, the TNLA has been training both police and administrators in order to maintain law and order,” said the information officer. While the exact number of individuals taking part in such training was not available, as of December, four training sessions had been held for law enforcement officers and eight for general administrative staff. Government buildings previously occupied by the junta’s authorities will serve as the offices of the new administration, the information officer added. Namkham, the first town to be captured by the TNLA as part of the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 offensive, is also the first to get its own fully staffed administrative offices. “Both public services and town security are being undertaken at the same time. The city development and cleaning has already begun, while health services are also underway,” said Ta Naw Lein, spokesperson for the new administration in Namkham. The TNLA flag flies over a branch of KBZ Bank in Kutkai on January 13 (Myat Pan/Myanmar Now) Located in a hilly region near the Chinese border, Namkham has long been known as one of northern Shan State’s centres of opium production. In the three years since the coup, Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan as the world’s number one producer of opium, according to a recent United Nations report on the global drug trade. The TNLA, which has taken part in campaigns to eliminate the trade in the past, has vowed to continue its efforts, according to Ta Naw Lein, who noted that drug-related offences make up the bulk of the 100 or so criminal cases currently being handled by the new administration, with theft from the homes of people forced to flee the recent fighting being another major issue.“Those who have been detained for drug abuse are being dealt with in order to clean up the town under the new municipal administration,” she said. Other TNLA officials contacted by Myanmar Now were unavailable for comment on the group’s anti-drugs policies and other priorities of their administration. Persistent threats Even as it moves beyond the military stage of the conflict and begins to set up offices in towns now under its control, the TNLA continues to face challenges from the regime, which has attempted to cut the towns off from each other and the surrounding region. Shortly after the TNLA seized Namtu on December 28, for instance, the military junta blew up a bridge connecting the town to nearby Namhsan and Hsipaw, according to a Hsipaw resident. Since then, the regime, which still controls Hsipaw, has heavily restricted travel between the three towns and limited shipments of food and fuel to Namtu and Namhsan, he added. A woman living in Lashio, the largest city in northern Shan State and the location of the headquarters of the junta’s Northeastern Regional Military Command, reported a similar situation there. “They are only allowing a very limited amount of edible oil and rice to go to Namtu and Manton,” she said, confirming local media reports that vehicles leaving the city can now carry only a single bag of rice and one bottle of cooking oil, while shipments of fuel are completely banned. The result has been a price surge in Namtu, where fuel now costs 5,000-6,500 kyat a litre, compared to 3,000-3,500 kyat in Lashio, according to locals. According to Min Anaing, the editor of local news agency Shwe Pe Myay, vehicles leaving TNLA-controlled territory are also subject to harassment by regime authorities. “Drivers travelling from Namhsan often get arrested,” he said, noting that the junta’s moves to restrict access to food and other necessities could lead to renewed clashes. There are also fears of conflict with other ethnic armed groups that are not part of the Brotherhood Alliance. In the past, the TNLA has fought with the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army, which late last year declared a truce with its long-time rival, the Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army. “We are constantly worried that the fighting could restart. Besides that, we are also worried about potential clashes between the Shan and Ta’ang armed groups,” said a woman from the Ta’ang Women’s Organisation (TWO). Still, she said, the greatest fear is one that many have felt around the country as the military continues to suffer heavy losses on the ground. “What we’re worried about most is that the military will use airstrikes to regain their bases,” said the woman, who noted that rebuilding damaged or destroyed infrastructure and private property is one of the major tasks now facing residents of TNLA- controlled towns. In the meantime, she added, there is relief among ordinary people no longer subject to the usual abuses of life under military rule, including routine beatings at junta checkpoints. Locals shop at a market in Kutkai on January 13 (Myat Pan/Myanmar Now) “People seem happier as their daily life gets slightly better in terms of moving around,” she told Myanmar Now.

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